Raila Odinga, presidential candidate of the One Kenya Alliance, has denied reports that he will boycott the August 9 general election if the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) fails to adopt both the manual and electronic voter registers.
This comes after Odinga insinuated during a rally in Githurai on Wednesday that he had reliable information linking IEBC boss Wafula Chebukati and his team to an apparent plot to print excess pre-marked ballot papers in a neighboring country and sneak them into the country on election day, explaining the electoral body’s alleged reluctance to use the manual register.
Speaking in Kirinyaga County on Thursday as part of his campaign tour, Odinga insisted that he cannot and will not boycott the upcoming elections, exuding confidence that he would win.
“We shall not and cannot boycott the elections. We are not cowards. But we want to tell the IEBC don’t dare steal the elections… Martha and Raila will take part in the elections and we shall win,” said Odinga.
According to Odinga, he only made the remarks on Wednesday to discourage any unscrupulous IEBC officials with ulterior motives from influencing the presidential election results.
“Mtu mwingine aliandika ati nilisema sisi tutasusia, ati we shall boycott elections, siwezi boycott elections. Na boycott elections namna gani na tunashinda. Mimi nilikuwa naonya hao watu wasithubutu kujaribu kuiba. Sisi ni washindi hatuwezi kugoma maanake tunashinda mbali sana,” he said.
To emphasize his point, Odinga boasted about his massive following in all parts of the country, noting that this distinguishes him from his presidential rivals.
“Ukienda pande ya western ni Azimio tupu, pwani, nyanza, north eastern, rift valley, eastern, central na mlima pia. Watapata kura wapi ya kutushinda? hawawezi tushinda,” he said.
The Azimio leader was accompanied by his running mate Martha Karua, as well as local leaders and senior government officials.
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