Why Raila and NASA should accept defeat and move on

Kenyans went to the polls on the 26th of October in a repeat Presidential election that came about after the August 8th general elections were annulled by the Supreme court.While I don't intend to invite criticism on the person of the right honorable Raila Odinga, nevertheless there are pertinent issues that revolve around Mr Odinga and the NASA political outfit that need to be highlighted.Mr Odinga's name occupies an enviable place in the annals of Kenya's history as the "foremost" campaigner for political reforms in the country. He was at the forefront of agitating for reforms in Kenya and suffered long spells of detention for fighting for the cause of advancing reforms and creating a pluralistic society, during the heydays of the Moi regime when one party rule ruled the roost.Those days of one party rule are long gone. We now live under a new constitutional dispensation that allows for ordinary citizens to go to court to seek legal and constitutional redress should they feel things have gone awry.When President Uhuru Kenyatta was declared the winner of the August 8th election, Mr Odinga and NASA together with other parties decided to go to court to challenge the election outcome. At that time every election cycle, ethnic and tribal tensions were already simmering as a result of what some perceived was alleged "rigging" by the powers that be.Nonetheless, in spite of President Uhuru's win being challenged, he and the ruling party Jubilee together with the election umpire, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission(IEBC) agreed to be subjected to due process of the law by the Supreme court under the tutelage of the chief justice, David Maraga.The Supreme court with the stroke of the pen nullified President Uhuru's win and ordered a rerun within 60 days. After haggling and behind the scenes consultations, the IEBC settled on October the 26th as the Presidential rematch date.Every step of the way, the IEBC worked robustly to consult with key stakeholders namely Jubilee and NASA as is to be expected in a burgeoning democracy like Kenya.NASA was contesting almost every bit and piece of the election roadmap and showed little stomach or propensity for dialogue.NASA then came up with a long convoluted list of demands couched in their now infamous "irreducible minimums", which were not "minimums" by any stretch of the imagination.From calling on the IEBC to go, pull the plug on al ghurair, allegations that Jubilee was working in cahoots with Safran Morpho, the demands were far reaching and therefore became unrealistic. By digging in their heels, Mr Odinga and his ilk thought they were creating an "impregnable" atmosphere that would guarantee "free and fair polls" and would therefore prevent alleged "rigging".Although Justice Maraga of the Supreme court, nullified the August 8th general elections on the account of "irregularities and illegalities", the court did not demarcate the boundaries of its decision. There was no fine tuning and was "open to interpretation" depending on one's worldview or depending on which side of the divide they sat on.The elections of 2017 have opened up old tribal wounds and widened the "schism" that exists between different tribes of Kenya. The pronouncements and grandstanding by Mr Odinga, NASA and their henchmen have only provided fermenting ground and succour for the growth of negative ethnicity and tribalism in the wake of the August 8th elections.In so many ways, while some would argue Mr Odinga has come out of the election fiasco with his credentials intact, others would say these things have done a major dent to the brand Raila Odinga.While he whiles his time away as he ponders his next move, he could be enjoying a "buyers remorse" after deciding to boycott the repeat Presidential elections.

Why Raila and NASA should accept defeat and move on

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Why Raila and NASA should accept defeat and move on

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