Azimio La Umoja One Kenya Alliance Coalition Party Presidential candidate Raila Odinga has been cleared by the IEBC to contend for the August 9, elections.
Odinga accompanied by his running mate Martha Karua among other Azimio-affiliated leaders however raised key issues that they want to be addressed touching on election preparedness.
Among them are the issues of ballot papers, transfer of voters, announcing of results, and the malpractices that marred the 2017 General elections.
Speaking after being cleared, Odinga applauded the fourth estate, the media, for the good job they are doing adding that there is freedom of speech and hence are allowed to critique and highlight all aspects of politics.
Notably, Odinga said he has no issue with the media, unlike the Ruto-led Kenya Kwanza which blasted Citizen TV for alleged media bias.
Read: DP Ruto Blasts “Biased” Citizen TV As IEBC Clears Him to Contend for Presidency
Odinga further called on the IEBC to ensure they deliver free, fair and credible elections.
“We have confidence that the IEBC has got the capacity to conduct free and fair elections, we, therefore, urge you to live by the script and do exactly what the people of Kenya expect of you,” Odinga said.
The Presidential Aspirant also raised the issue of hooliganism by political opponents who are using their supporters to vandalize campaign posters.
In particular, Odinga cited the issue in Bomet where his campaign posters were torn terming it undemocratic.
Read Also: We Will Not Require A Round Two Vote – CS Mucheru On Raila Winning August Election
He called for tolerance and acceptance of all political parties and aspirants by supporters regardless of their political stand.
“That is an act of hooliganism, which is primitive and should not be tolerated in a civilized society. I urge our supporters not to interfere or try to deface any billboard or publicity materials belonging to our opponents…We are not enemies, we are competitors,” Raila said.
We are confident that @IEBCKenya has the capacity to conduct free and fair elections.
We therefore ask them to allow the people of Kenya to exercise their will. #RailasGrandMarch pic.twitter.com/imQusFv64s
— Raila Odinga (@RailaOdinga) June 5, 2022
Notably, Raila named lawyer Saitabu ole Kanchori as his chief agent, deputized by Nyeri deputy governor Dr Caroline Karugu.
Also on the presidential team is Prof Isaiah Iguna Kindiki, Senator Kithure Kindiki’s brother.
Here are the key issues Raila raised:
- Has the commission developed constitutionally-compliant protocols of results transmission path from the polling stations to the national tallying centre? When will the commission share the said protocols with the stakeholders?
- What is the status of the voter-registration exercise; on the county by county and constituency by constituency basis?
- Is the preliminary report of the audit ready? If so, what are the findings? When is the final draft report of the audit of voters expected?”
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