With just a 364 days to go before the 2017 elections, Cord leader Raila Odinga has sent a message for conscientious decision making among Kenyans.
In a message posted on his Facebook page, Raila has asked Kenyans to take up their civic duty and vote in the elections.
“August 8 marks the start of the one-year countdown to our second general election under the 2010 constitution. As citizens, let us embark on taking our future in our hands by taking up our civic and patriotic duty to vote in the coming elections,” the statement said.
It added, “We must register as voters through the continuous process even as we pursue processes to ensure the credibility of the voter register and that in the end all votes will count and all votes will be counted.”
Raila said that Kenyans’ best efforts must be focused on ensuring elections that produce a legitimate outcome for future stability and progress while strengthening the democratic process.
“It is critical that Kenya remains true to the ideals of democracy and we cannot run away from our responsibility in ensuring this,” he added.
Raila has also called on Kenyans to audit the Jubilee government on the promises they made in 2013.
“We must also embark on a critical review of the past four years, especially the promises made by the Jubilee regime against delivery, the general state and direction of the country today as compared to the same period before last elections and what we must do to ensure a better country and a more accountable and inclusive government in 2017.”
The Cord leader has discredited government saying it is particularly important to understand the link between what the government has embarked on in recent weeks as nothing other than partisan campaigns.
“There is nothing new Jubilee can deliver between August 8, 2016 and this time in 2017. What has not been delivered in four years will not be delivered in less than a year. We must make Jubilee account for its old promises before it starts making new ones,” Raila added.
He added, “We must also fact-check and be sure what Jubilee claims to have delivered actually exist on the ground and that the same are not just refurbished Grand Coalition Government projects. We have a duty as citizens to hold the government to account and to ensure the next government is not a product of fraud and default.”
Raila’s statement comes a week after a poll by IPSOS Synovate showed that he should retire from active politics.
He spoke after meeting a section of Kisii MCAs and other leaders in a closed-door meeting on Monday. The meeting is seen as an approach to conglomerating the region as a voting bloc.