Raila Odinga chickens out of Kenya’s second round presidential elections

Kenya — Kenya opposition leader Raila Odinga on Tuesday withdrew his candidacy for the fresh presidential election ordered by the Supreme Court, saying the election commission had not made changes to avoid the “irregularities and illegalities” cited in the nullified August vote.

It was Odinga’s legal challenge that led the court to nullify the Aug. 8 election that President Uhuru Kenyatta won. He alleged that vote results had been hacked into and manipulated.

The Supreme Court also ordered a new election, which is set for Oct. 26. It was the first time a court had overturned the results of a presidential election in Africa.

He said the commission had “stonewalled” reforms the opposition had sought and wasted time in “public relations exercises” meant to create an impression of “motion without movement.”

Among the reforms Odinga had demanded were the replacement of suppliers of equipment used to transmit election results and the replacement of electoral officials the opposition claimed were complicit in electoral fraud.

Source-Online