Uhuru: Raila must declare he will accept defeat

The State House has once again urged the Opposition to declare if they will concede defeat should they lose in the August 8 General Election.

State House Spokesman Manoah Esipisu said Nasa flag bearer Raila Odinga and others challenging President Uhuru Kenyatta must pledge acceptance of the results to assist in delivering a peaceful, transparent and timely vote next month.

He was responding to statements by Mr Odinga that Jubilee Party was planning to reject the election results “after sensing defeat”.

WILD ASSERTIONS

Mr Odinga said the recent outbursts by President Uhuru Kenyatta directed at the Judiciary indicated that the incumbent was not ready to accept defeat.

The former Prime Minister also claimed that the government had assembled a security team to rig the elections adding that Mr Kenyatta should promise Kenyans that he will hand over power peacefully if he loses the presidential election next month.

In a statement on Thursday, Mr Esipisu said: “We are surprised and shocked at the baseless and laughable allegations made by one of the President’s challengers on July 11, 2017.

“The wild assertions are intended to wilfully undermine public confidence in our democratic system required to ensure an incident-free, fair, transparent and credible electoral process where the will of Kenyans is exercised.”

STAUNCH SUPPORTER

Mr Esipisu noted that President Kenyatta has repeatedly committed to accept the outcome of the results and therefore his opponents should follow suit.

“President Kenyatta is a staunch supporter of our democratic institutions and has supported them fully, including politically and through the fiscal process. While the President has been campaigning across the country for his re–election to retain leadership and continue transforming Kenya, his opponent and his cronies continue to work hard to attempt to derail preparations for the August 8 elections,” said Mr Esipisu.

He further accused the opposition of going out of their way to ensure the elections do not take place by filing more than 30 cases, which he termed as frivolous, in the courts.

However, Mr Odinga has dismissed the narrative by Jubilee that cases filed by the opposition in courts were an indication that Nasa was not ready for the August elections.

BALLOT PAPERS

“At the same time, they continue to make demands without reason or logic, with the most recent one being that they must be included in the tender committee to procure ballot papers for the forthcoming elections.

“Common sense dictates that there is no bigger interference on the independence of Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) than that of dictating how, when and where they run their affairs,” Mr Esipisu said.

The State House spokesman cautioned that claims by opposition leaders that there is a plan to manipulate the elections are inciting and are likely to jeopardise the confidence Kenyans have in the electoral commission.