Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga has called on his supporters to reject President William Ruto’s government, saying last August’s disputed election has robbed him of legitimacy.
Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza coalition secured a narrow victory over Odinga in the election, whose announcement of the results was accompanied by chaotic scenes at the national counting centre, and whose victory was upheld by the Supreme Court.
Both leaders, who have dominated politics in East Africa’s largest economy for decades, settled into a restless calm after the election contest, but Odinga’s coalition said last week it had found new evidence of rigging.
“We cannot and will not recognize the Kenyan Kwanza regime and we consider the Kenyan Kwanza government illegitimate,” Odinga told a rally in the capital on Monday, adding that the government must resign.
The August vote is being closely watched because of disputes in past contests that have led to bloodshed. More than 1,200 people died after the 2007 elections and, in 2017, more than 100 people died after the Supreme Court annulled the preliminary results due to irregularities in the electoral process.
Ruto, who said the Supreme Court ruling proved his victory, accused Odinga of planning to sabotage his administration by calling for protests.
The president has moved to set the stage for the reconstitution of the electoral commission, IEBC, after the retirement of the chairman and two loyal commissioners this month, and the resignation of the majority of others.
He set up a panel to investigate the actions of the four electoral commissioners who rejected the results of the election if Ruto did not win. Three of the four have resigned.
“We request that any attempt to reconstitute the IEBC single-handedly by Mr. Ruto cease immediately so that Kenyans themselves can reconstitute the body after full and fair deliberations,” said Odinga.
He also called on Kenyans to reject the government’s “punitive taxes” on basic commodities like flour and electricity.
“The fight begins today,” he said.
Source: Reuters
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