WAH!!!!?...RAILA CONFIRMS HE WONT VIE FOR PRESIDENCY NEXT YEAR

Opposition leader Raila Odinga has vowed to boycott next year’s elections , even as 11 envoys urged dialogue. Raila insisted that there would be “no reason for us to participate” as the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), over which he is leading protests to oust the commissioners, will not be fair. “We dont want inssues that may lead us to a state of violence that we witnessed in 2008. We will not go into the gallows. As it stands there would definitely be no reason for us to participate in the coming elections,” Raila told Al Jazeera’s TV in an interview.

he ODM leader spoke even as the ruling Jubilee coalition and the Opposition’s Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD) welcomed the proposal by the envoys in Nairobi for talks for electoral reforms ahead of the next General Election. But the rival coalitions clashed bitterly over the agenda of those talks. Jubilee wants the talks to deal with electoral reforms, agree on pending issues ahead of the next election, but not the removal of the commissioners. Raila went further and dropped a bombshell. CORD, on the other hand, has in its agenda the removal of the commissioners named in the multi-million procurement scandal of ballot papers, for which the givers of the bribe have been jailed in the UK. CORD remains adamant that the current commissioners have to go before the next elections. But for the IEBC, the doors are open for dialogue but that has to be done in a “structured manner”. The commission has called a press conference tomorrow. Yesterday, IEBC Chief Executive Officer Ezra Chiloba reiterated the commission’s position that all political parties were free to engage the commission in a structured manner but if they have queries about the commissioners, then the Constitution had an elaborate procedure for their removal. “In our electoral road map, we are very clear on the priorities of the commission. We need to build a political environment that inspires public confidence in the electoral process,” Mr Chiloba told The Standard. The IEBC and politicians spoke shortly after the US Ambassador Robert Godec, British High Commissioner Nic Hailey and nine other envoys from Western countries issued a joint statement that called for dialogue to build confidence in the country’s electoral commission. “To ensure a credible, peaceful poll in 2017, we call on Kenya’s leaders and citizens to come together through dialogue to build confidence in the electoral system. While the responsibility for doing so rests first with elected and appointed officials, this is a challenge for all Kenyans and everyone should join in good faith,” the envoys said.
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