Seventeen days towards the repeat election, Uhuru Kenyatta and Jubilee are campaigning to death. Meanwhile, Raila Odinga and NASA are firming up serious preconditions for the electoral commission.
Uhuru seems to have sensed victory, he has picked up so many losers from NASA and they have joined him. Raila seems to realise that he will not be able to raise the numbers, and therefore going into an election will destroy his legacy forever.
Going for an election will be a confirmation that he has never won an election all he has been repeatedly telling the people about his election being stolen is a lie.
So, technically, he is moving to the UK, the US and some other countries to avoid being available on October 26.
Legally, the IEBC got it wrong by barring other participants in this repeat presidential election. It was wrong for the commission to say that only Uhuru and Raila should be on the ballot. This is a fresh election, the saviour for Ekuru Aukot, who has filed a case in the High Court, asking that he be included. Definitely, if the court allows Aukot and others to be included, then Uhuru would have someone to compete against.
If Uhuru does not get a competitor then the question would be whether, legally, he would be declared President unopposed.
Politically and globally, the legitimacy of his presidency would be put to question. Then he would be seen as being President of the Jubilee Party. So it is upon Jubilee to ensure that there are as many contestants for President as possible – for the sake of legitimacy.
If Raila doesn’t participate in the repeat presidential polls, and says that, for the sake of the nation, he has decided to withdraw, then he would become a statesman worth emulating.
As things stand right now, there will be an election, whether Raila contests or not. Remember what happened in Kikuyu constituency, where Kimani Ichung’wa was declared MP-elect without an election, Uhuru will be declared unopposed. The international community is pushing for a peaceful continuity in Kenya.
There is much more to this nation than Uhuru and Raila.
The election will be conducted, but the question will be what kind of an election it would be. It is up to the State to ensure that the election complies with the Constitution – that the election is held in each constituency.
The writer is a constitutional lawyer
Source link-the-star.co.ke
