ODM leader Raila Odinga. [Photo/ BBC]
NASA presidential candidate Raila Odinga’s spirited fight against independent institutions has reached a new low, following his claims that the repeat polls, set for October 17, will be held under his terms. “The election will be held under NASA’s terms,” Raila said. Raila, who has lost four presidential elections, wants IEBC CEO Ezra Chiloba and a team of more than 10 officials to be kicked out of the electoral commission, even before the Supreme Court indicts anyone for any wrongdoing during the last general election.After initially saying that he will not take part in the October 17 election unless his conditions, which he calls ‘irreducible minimums”, are met, the ODM leader now says there will be no election next month if his issues are not addressed. Since IEBC must hold the presidential election within 60 days, since the Supreme Court nullified the poll results over ‘illegalities and irregularities’, Raila is now holding the country at ransom. Most of his demands are impossible to meet, given the strict constitutional time limits available. If the election is not held by October 30, there will be a constitutional crisis. The reality is Kenyans are tired of politics and want to move on from the election period. The daily routine of almost everyone gets disrupted whenever we have elections. Why can’t Raila, who claims to have won last month’s polls by more than 1.5 million votes, campaign and get ready for the repeat polls, since he’s sure of getting ‘more votes’ than President Kenyatta? In last month’s results, whose numbers were not disputed at the Supreme Court, President Kenyatta defeated Raila by more than 1.4 million votes. It is time Raila realizes that Kenya is bigger than his ambitions. The 45 million people living in this country deserve better.