British Magazine Blasts Raila for Withdrawing from Election, UK Trip

An influential British magazine has blasted NASA leader Raila Odinga for his recent decision to withdraw from the October 26th repeat election, as well as on his current trip to the United Kingdom.

The Economist says it was pretty evident that the NASA coalition did not plan to contest the election given that it has been running a bare-bones campaign since the Supreme Court annulled the August 8th general election and ordered a repeat election.

“It had already been clear for several weeks that Mr Odinga did not plan to contest the election. His coalition of parties, the National Super Alliance (NASA), had been running a bare-bones campaign,” says The Economist.

The magazine says the former Prime Minister's trip to the UK and possibly the US at such a crucial time with only two weeks left to the repeat election is most likely meant to drum up support from the international community for his withdrawal. “The candidate himself had made plans to travel to Britain and possibly America two weeks before the vote—prime campaigning time—presumably to drum up international support for his withdrawal,” the article reads in part.

The Economist further notes that Raila “seems to be gambling on his ability to threaten chaos to push Mr Kenyatta to negotiate. But the trouble with that strategy is that Mr Odinga is running out of money. And although opposition protests occasionally gum up the centre of Nairobi, even his most fervent supporters will not stay on the streets indefinitely.”

In the article, the magazine warns that should the repeat election be held without Raila participating in it, his [Raila’s] supporters will feel left out of the political system and may not view Uhuru Kenyatta as a legitimately elected president.