Raila: It's Illegal for IEBC to Continue with October 26th Election

Opposition leader Raila Odinga says that it would be illegal for Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to go on with October 26th repeat election.

Speaking during an interview with The Standard at The Conrad Hotel in St James Park in London on Saturday, the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) leader maintained that there will be no election on October 26th.

Raila said that the Wednesday ruling by High Court Judge John Mativo that allowed Thirdway Alliance presidential candidate Ekuru Aukot to be on ballot was welcomed, but was a little too late.

Raila warned the electoral commission that attempts to conduct the election on October 26th would be a violation of Kenyan law.

“When we wrote to the IEBC for my withdrawal, it meant they have to organise fresh election in 90 days. There will be no elections on October 26, that should be clear,” he said.

He further warned the international community against endorsing regimes with dubious records and sidelining democracy activists and civil society in disguise of stability, war on terror and business.

“I express the fear that we are entering an era of anything goes with regard to democratisation with the West being seen to be turning its back on democracy by cutting funding,” he said.

The former Prime Minister further noted that electoral crisis in the country continue to cause economic dislocation and financial suffering.

“And with each passing day, it also deepens divisions, polarisation and radicalisation across the country,” he said.

“We must ask: Is an election held to fulfill some legal requirement, regardless of whether it will be demonstrably free and fair? Elections lie at the heart of democracy. There is no greater symbol, nor more potent expression, of a people’s will and determination to decide the kind of country they want and to choose leaders who are committed to taking them there.”

He condemned the Election Amendment Bill passed in Parliament, saying it would gut many current electoral safeguards and limit the powers of the Supreme Court to overturn a fraudulent presidential election.

“It is vital for Kenya’s friends and economic partners to realise that the crisis in Kenya is not only about who was or will be the next lawfully elected President of our great nation. The real crisis is that those in power have abundantly shown -- before, during and after this utterly failed election -- their determination to hold on to power by any and all means,” he said.