NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 31 – Thirdway Alliance presidential candidate Ekuru Aukot has conceded defeat to President Uhuru Kenyatta who was Monday declared winner of last week’s presidential election, after garnering 7.4 million votes.
Aukot who came in third after National Super Alliance’s Raila Odinga said in a statement following the announcement of President Kenyatta’s victory that his decision was based on his firm belief in democracy.
“It is undemocratic not to accept an outcome of an election even if one may have issues with it,” Aukot’s statement read.
He challenged those contesting the election held last Thursday to be true to self and national ideals, concede and live to fight another day.
Aukot, however, raised concern with the intimidation of willing voters on Election Day in some parts of the country making it impossible for them to vote, acts he described as undemocratic.
“While the ordinary citizens in the affected areas were willing to participate in exercising their democratic rights, fear of violence kept them away,” he noted.
“We are appalled at the inaction by Uhuru Kenyatta’s government while known political players have committed the above electoral offences and are still hell-bent on fuelling violence in Kenya,” Aukot protested.
The Thirdway leader who successfully petitioned the High Court to have himself enlisted as a presidential candidate in the fresh election after the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) exclusively gazetted President Kenyatta and NASA’s Odinga, urged the Head of State to unite Kenyans and work hard to bring an end to social and economic injustice.
“We specifically urge President Uhuru Kenyatta to fight corruption within government ranks, in both National and County Governments,” he urged.
According to Aukot, President Kenyatta must take upon himself the non-transferable task of uniting Kenyans moving forward since the unity of the nation was not negotiable.
Most importantly, he said, the Head of State should not shy from extending an olive branch to his political opponents to further cement national unity.
“We finally remind all ordinary citizens that no political leader is worth dying for. Not even myself, Ekuru Aukot.”
Independent candidate Japheth Kaluyu also issued similar remarks saying the nation needed to forge ahead after the poll.
IEBC declared President Kenyatta the winner of Thursday election albeit the nonparticipation of some 25 constituencies in Nyanza where NASA protesters held rampant demonstrations impairing the electoral commission from successfully staging an election in the region.
Kenyatta’s victory stood at 98.26 per cent of 7,483,895 valid votes cast, with his rival Odinga who called for his supporters to boycott the election only managing 73,228 votes, after rallying his supporters to boycott the election.
Aukot got 21,333 votes, Alliance for Real Change leader Abduba Dida securing 14,107 votes.
Kaluyu, Michael Wainaina, Joseph Nyagah, and Cyrus Jirongo had 8,261, 6,007, 5,554 and 3,823 votes respectively.
Prior to the declaration of the results, IEBC held a plenary under the leadership of Chairperson Wafula Chebukati in which the commission unanimous resolved to declare results of the presidential election successfully conducted in 266 out of 291 constituencies countrywide, having arrived at the conclusion that it would have been practically impossible to hold an election in the remaining 25 constituencies in Nyanza.
“Section 58 (b2) of the Elections Act requires that when an election is postponed, the said election should be held at the earliest practicable time. We postponed the election in 25 constituencies but the Commission could not determine an appropriate and practicable time and we were unable to proceed with an election in those constituencies,” Chebukati explained.
According to Chebukati, the failure by an estimated 1.6 million voters in the said constituencies to participate in the presidential election would not tilt the scales in favour of any candidate.
“In accordance with 55 (b) of the Election Act, the Commission directed that a return of the election be made being satisfied that the results shall not be affected by voting in the said electoral areas where voting was postponed,” Chebukati remarked.
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