The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has asked Raila Odinga not to "mislead" Kenyans after asking the electoral agency's chairperson Wafula Chebukati to keep off Mombasa and Kakamega gubernatorial elections.
On Wednesday, Odinga said he wanted Chebukati barred from presiding over Mombasa and Kakamega gubernatorial elections scheduled for Monday, August 29.
Odinga said there's an active case in court questioning the suitability of Chebukati to preside over subsequent elections following the disputed August 9, 2022 presidential election results.
However, in a quick rejoinder, the IEBC, through its official Twitter page, said it was untrue that Chebukati oversees elections in the counties.
"The commission wishes to inform the public that the statements made today by former prime minister Raila Odinga with regard to the role of the chairman in the two gubernatorial elections [in Kakamega and Mombasa] scheduled for Monday, August 29 are misleading," the IEBC said.
"Gubernatorial elections are run by gazetted returning officers as provided for by the law. For avoidance of doubt, returning officers for Mombasa and Kakamga counties are Ibrahim Swalhah Yusuf and Joseph Ayatta respectively," added the IEBC.
Speaking at Wild Waters in Nyali, Mombasa earlier Wednesday, Odinga exuded confidence that in a free and fair election, Abdullswamad Sheriff Nassir of ODM would emerge victorious in the Mombasa governorship race.
Nassir will face off against UDA's Hassan Omar and other contestants.
"Chebukati's deputy, Juliana Cherera, should be allowed to preside over the upcoming elections. There's an active court case against Chebukati, and he should, therefore, disqualify himself from overseeing the polls," Odinga said while campaigning for Nassir.
The ODM leader urged Mombasa residents to turn out in large numbers and vote for Nassir, the outgoing MP for Mvita Constituency.
"IEBC deliberately postponed the gubernatorial elections in Kakamega and Mombasa to affect the voter turn-out. Had they not done that, we'd have secured an uncontestable win in the presidential polls. The two counties are our strongholds," Odinga said.
The Azimio leader was accompanied to Mombasa by his running mate Martha Karua and several MPs-elect.
The team expressed confidence that the Supreme Court would overturn the presidential results that saw William Ruto of UDA being announced the president-elect with some 7.18 million votes. Odinga, as per IEBC, got 4.94 million votes.
"We have evidence to prove that we were ahead of Ruto in the presidential election," said Odinga.
Karua urged the supporters of Azimio la Umoja-One Kenya to remain calm as the court process continues.
"You shouldn't be worried. Look at Raila, does he look worried? He has gone through a lot, and he's still strong because he believes in the rule of law. Had it been another person, he'd have given up," Karua said.
