NASA's withdrawal from the repeat presidential election has painted a bad image for the poll. (Photo/zambianobserver.com)
The country participated in the repeat presidential election on Thursday in a bid to elect the commander-in-chief meant to steer the country for the next five years. This comes after the Supreme Court annulled an earlier result that had President Uhuru Kenyatta defeat his closest rival Raila Odinga. An election was thus scheduled to take place within 60 days as dictated by the constitution.
However, immediately the ruling annulling the August results was made, NASA made it clear that they will not participate in a fresh election with an electoral body (IEBC) they believe rigged them out in August. They immediately embarked on a 'no reforms no election' campaign throughout the country.
Wednesday, October 25th, NASA leaders affirmed to their supporters not to participate in the repeat election citing it a sham process.
It is thus not a surprise that some of the opposition strongholds decided not to vote but opted for demos and barricading of roads in a bid to impair IEBC processes. They have done all this to try and discredit the ongoing election process that other parts of the country have decided to carry on with.
Nonetheless, NASA should understand that their opinions, views and aspirations cannot be subjected to other people since these other people also have certain political biases. The only institution meant to discredit an election in case of any irregularity or illegality is the Supreme Court and NASA should trust the same court they hailed for annulling the August election.
All in all, it is not right for them to legitimize a process just because they did not participate in it.