NASA: This is why we might boycott repeat elections

Nasa Presidential candidate Raila Odinga addresses supporters during a political rally at Jakaranda in Nairobi's Eastlands on Sunday 17th September, 2017.

Opposition leader Raila Odinga has launched the final push to edge out electoral commission officials he accuses of bungling the August 8 elections.

National Super Alliance (NASA) leaders said they would embark on nationwide rallies to explain to their followers why there would be no repeat presidential elections on October 17 if their demand that the poll officials resign is not met.

“The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) as currently constituted together with the institutions that conducted the August elections cannot conduct a free and fair election in October. It is not in their interest to do so,” Raila told a press conference in a Nairobi hotel yesterday.

“And so today, we launch our campaign against any elections held by IEBC as currently constituted. We shall go around the country sensitising people about our case against elections by IEBC," he added.

Sever links

Present were NASA principals Kalonzo Musyoka and Musalia Mudavadi, and several opposition MPs.

The Opposition accused IEBC of working together with President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Jubilee Party to compromise elections.

The Opposition leaders also demanded that IEBC severs links with French firm Saffran and Morpho, which supplied electronic kits, and Al Ghurair, which printed ballot papers, claiming they could not be trusted.

The electoral commission had indicated that Dubai-based Al Ghurair would print the presidential ballot papers because it has a running contract with it.

Raila said NASA would sensitise its supporters about the reforms that must take place before they can be called to another election.

“As the Opposition, we have instituted reforms to the election process before. We shall do it again. That is our focus and our goal. Because we instituted the use of technology in our elections, we were able to catch the thieves and fraudsters this time,” Raila said.

He hailed the Supreme Court verdict that nullified Uhuru’s re-election.

“The Supreme Court’s decision made Kenya the first country in Africa and fourth in the world to have a presidential election declared invalid, null and void due to illegalities and irregularities in the electoral process,” Raila said.

He called on the IEBC officers who facilitated the display of figures purporting them to be poll results but which at the Supreme Court hearing were disowned by the commission as mere statistics to resign.

“That is where reform at IEBC will begin. Kenyans are coming for you. Salvage what you can and run. There will be no election with you in office,” Raila declared.

Raila noted that since the Supreme Court declared that the presidential election was not conducted in accordance with the Constitution, and Uhuru’s win was invalid, only two developments have occurred at the IEBC.

“First, IEBC Chairman Wafula Chebukati raised more questions with the CEO of the Commission Ezra Chiloba. Then the officials proceeded to a retreat and declared unity and readiness to conduct another election,” Raila said.

Suing threats

At the same time, Raila dismissed threats by the French firm Saffran and Morpho to  sue the Opposition for wrongly linking it to poll system malpractice.

The firm said its audit had revealed no evidence of hacking into its systems as claimed by the Opposition.

But Raila insisted that the firm was complicit in the presidential elections annulled by Supreme Court.

"Safran cannot threaten us with going to court yet it remained mum when the transmission was being interfered with. They are complicit in the grand scheme to deny Kenyans free and fair elections," said Raila.

On the firm's audit report, Raila said: “The firm that supplied the kits for the failed elections after being single-sourced now claim to have audited itself away from the eyes of the complainants and the Kenyan public and given itself a clean bill of health.”