KENYA–NASA leader Raila Odinga has Wednesday morning said Jubilee Party has already printed fake ballot papers at a godown in Industrial Area ahead of the repeat polls on October 26.
He claims they have photographic evidence of Jubilee Secretary General Raphael Tuju and chief agent Davis Chirchir entering the godown to inspect the printing process.
“That is one of the reasons we withdrew. These are thieves and we cannot go to an election whose outcome is already known.”
Raila spoke a day after he withdrew from the October 26 repeat race, saying IEBC has stonewalled any attempts to initiate reforms necessary for a free and fair election.
NASA had given the electoral commission 11 irreducible minimums which it demanded must be met before they agree to go to the fresh election.
Among them is the dismissal of IEBC CEO Ezra Chiloba and ten other officials who Raila said were the architects of rigging the polls.
“If they make the necessary changes we will go to elections,” Raila said, adding that anti-IEBC demos will continue as scheduled.
The repeat election was called after the Supreme Court on September 1 annulled President Uhuru Kenyatta’s win at the August 8 polls. The court cited irregularities and illegalities in the transmission of results.
Raila said his pulling out of the race is meant to push for a free and fair electoral process in the country now and in future elections.
“I don’t have to always be on the ballot, but I want my candidate or whoever will be on the ballot to participate in a free and fair contest,” Raila said.
The Opposition leader said the many petitions that have been lodged in various courts is an indication that the August election was not free and fair.
He said he took the decision to pull out of the repeat election because he does not want the culture of stolen elections to continue in the country.
Raila said he beat former President Mwai Kibaki in the 2007 election and again defeated President Uhuru Kenyatta in 2013 and in the August election.
“Everyone knows I won, I was leading Kibaki with more than a million votes with a few constituencies to go. Then an order was given for live transmission of results to stop. Then they announced that Kibaki won and people started demonstrating,” Raila said.
The former prime minister dismissed claims that he withdrew from the election to create a political and constitutional crisis and force a coalition government.
“I am the one who won so if they want talks for coalition government they come to me, not me going to them. They are talking about me wanting “nusu mkate” as if they won,” Raila said.
The opposition chief said Jubilee is busy buying defectors who lost in the election to make it look like it has the numbers.
The NASA chief is set to travel to the UK where he will give a lecture at the Royal Institute of International Affairs, Chatham House this Friday.
