Raila Commits to Concede Defeat and Congratulate the Winner If He Loses in August

Azimio La Umoja-One Kenya coalition party presidential candidate Raila Odinga says he will accept defeat if he loses the August 9th elections.

Speaking during a televised interview on Tuesday night, Odinga described himself as a sportsman, pledging to concede and heartily congratulate the winner of the election.

“…I am a sportsman and I know that asiyekubali kushindwa si mshindani. I would easily accept defeat and congratulate the winner,” Raila said.

Odinga, who is giving his fifth stab at the presidency, further challenged the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to demonstrate that they are ready to conduct a free and fair election.

“I want to be convinced that preparations have been done to ensure free and fair electoral process.  When I presented our papers to the commission, I accompanied it with a letter with 10 questions, they have partly answered the questions but there are some concerns which have not been satisfactory,” he said.

On her part, Odinga’s running mate Martha Karua pointed out that it is the responsibility of the commission, political parties, and candidates to ensure the election is free and fair.

“We each have a responsibility to make the election, free, fair and credible. Everybody involved in the electoral process has a role to play, if each one of us stood up for our country then we wouldn’t have complaints in elections,” she noted.