[John Kerry in a past function. He has apologized to Raila Odinga for validating August 8 elections. Photo/Newyorktimes]
Former US Secretary of the State and Democrat presidential candidate John Kerry has apologized to opposition leader Raila Odinga following his validation of August 8 elections.
Acting as an observer with Carte Center, Kerry asked Odinga to concede defeat on grounds that elections were free and fair.
But following the nullification of presidential results, Kerry, at an interview with BBC, said he may have been misleading by superficial analysis of the exercise.
‘I still maintain my previous position that the queuing, identification and voting at the polling stations were largely smooth and peaceful,” he said.
Kerry added:”however, I want to sincerely apologize unreservedly to Raila Odinga for severally urging him to concede defeat yet total tally was arrived at through a flawed process.”
Already, opposition leaders are calling for thorough vetting of observers in the elections that have been scheduled on October 17th.
A similar apology was issued by The New York Times, a leading publication in the US after cannibalizing Odinga’s character.