Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga said on Tuesday his alliance would not participate in the re-run of a presidential election proposed for Oct. 17 unless it is given “legal and constitutional†guarantees.
Odinga’s conditions for participating in the repeat presidential election include the removal of six officials at the election board. He wants criminal investigations to be opened against them.
“You cannot do a mistake twice and expect to get different results,†Odinga told reporters. “A number of the officials of the commission should be sent home, some of them should be investigated for the heinous crimes they committed.â€
Kenya’s Supreme Court ordered on Friday that the Aug. 8 vote be re-run within 60 days, saying President Uhuru Kenyatta’s victory by 1.4 million votes was undermined by irregularities in the process. Kenyatta was not accused of any wrongdoing.
The ruling, the first time in Africa that a court had overturned the re-election of a sitting president, was hailed by Odinga supporters as “historicâ€.
Analysts have said it is likely to lead to some short-term volatility in East Africa’s biggest economy but could build confidence in institutions longer-term.
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On Monday, the election board said it would hold new elections on Oct. 17.
But Odinga said he wanted elections held on Oct. 24 or 31 instead.
“There will be no elections on the seventeenth of October until the conditions that we have spelled out in the statement are met,†he said.
Odinga has contested and lost the last three presidential elections in Kenya. Each time, he has said the vote was rigged against him.
Read also:Â Â Kenya elections: Date for re-run announced
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