Raila threatens to boycott Oct. 17 election

The National Super Alliance (NASA) now says it will not take part in the October 17th fresh election called by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), since it was not consulted.

NASA principals Raila Odinga, Kalonzo Musyoka and Moses Wetang’ula, while addressing the press at Wilson Airport in Nairobi en route to Kisii and Nyamira for campaign rallies, accused IEBC of taking instructions from acting Interior Cabinet Secretary Dr Fred Matiang’i to fix the election date despite earlier assurances they would be consulted on the way forward.

NASA is demanding changes in the IEBC secretariat before a rerun can be conducted, saying they cannot trust the Ezra Chiloba-led team after it was indicted by the Supreme Court for conducting illegalities and irregularities especially with regard to transmission of presidential election results following the August 8 electoral contest.

“We are not ready to participate in elections with the same people who messed us up. It is akin to leaving your sheep to be watched over by hyenas,” NASA presidential candidate Raila Odinga said.

Related: Many bumps on the road to October 17 election

Raila also dismissed Matiang’i’s position that the country cannot afford to cause anxiety to national examinations candidates by changing the time table, saying there is no harm in delaying the test by at least two weeks. “In any case, the children will be proceeding on holiday. If we delay the exams by two weeks, they will not die,” he said.

At the same time, NASA wants the French government to investigate Safran Identity and Security, which was in charge of the transmission of election results, accusing it of complicity to rig the poll. Raila also demanded that all the candidates who took part in the August 8 contest be allowed to participate in the fresh election.