Raila Says Kenya to Hold Referendum Before the End of this Year

ODM leader Raila Odinga believes the country will hold a referendum to amend the constitution before the end of this year.

Odinga predicted the vote would most likely be conducted in late November or in December when the Covid-19 infection curve is expected to have flattened.

“Initially we were thinking that we would be able to do a referendum by July or August but this has not been possible. We are hoping Covid-19 will peak by September and after that, it will start going down in October. We will be in a position to do a referendum by the end of November or sometime in December,” he told NTV’s Kennedy Muriithi during an interview.

He said the government will find a way of conducting the voting exercise without risking the lives of Kenyans.

“There are countries that are involved in the balloting. Tanzania is going to hold an election in October and the US in November. We’ll look at what other countries are going to do,” he added.

Some countries including Burundi and Malawi held their general elections in May and June respectively in complete disregard of Covid-19 safety measures.

Senate Majority Whip Irungu Kang’ata agreed with Odinga that there is still plenty of time to introduce changes to the constitution through popular vote.

“We still have sufficient time for a referendum this year. The BBI report will soon be out, then the president will give the country direction,” he noted.