Disputed Poll: Raila Assures UN Boss António Guterres of Peaceful Resolution

Saturday, August 27, 2022

Azimio la Umoja One Kenya presidential party leader Raila Odinga speaks to his supporters at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) in Nairobi on August 22, 2022.

Yasuyoshi Chiba | AFP

By Silas Apollo

What you need to know:

Mr Odinga assured the UN boss of his commitment to following the due and legal process to address his grievances over the elections. 

The ODM party leader said that the conversation with Mr Guterres also focused on the peace and stability of the East African region.

Mr Odinga also expressed confidence in the Azimio coalition winning both the Mombasa and Kakamega governor elections.

Azimio la Umoja One Kenya presidential candidate Raila Odinga has said that he has held discussions with United Nations secretary-general António Guterres over the disputed presidential election. 

Mr Odinga on Saturday said that held a telephone conversation with Mr Guterres, where he assured the UN boss of his commitment to following the due and legal process to address his grievances over the elections. 

Speaking to journalists in Nairobi, the ODM party leader said that the conversation with Mr Guterres – which took place two days ago, also focused on the peace and stability of the East African region.

“Two days ago I got a phone call from the secretary general of the United Nations Mr Guterres. He called me to talk to me about the development in our country and in the region generally. I briefed him about what has happened in our country, the outcome of our general elections and the processes we have initiated to get a satisfactory solution to this problem,” Mr Odinga said.

Azimio conduct

The Orange party leader said that the UN secretary-general said that he was impressed with the manner in which the Azimio team had conducted itself despite disputing the presidential results announced by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission.

He said that he also gave Mr Guterres his assurance that he will follow all the legal channels to peacefully address his concerns over the conduct of the IEBC.

“He (Guterres) was very grateful for the manner in which we have behaved and the way with which we have conducted ourselves up to now. I gave him an assurance that Kenya as a democracy must mature and we are determined to pursue legal and constitutional means to resolve the disputes that we have over the decision by the IEBC to try and hijack our election,” Mr Odinga said. 

“We also talked about regional issues and insecurity in this regions and the Horn of Africa generally and we told him that we are very much committed to ensuring stability in this region and that we will continue to make our contribution as a country to deal with the threats of terrorism and to ensure that stability is brought back to our region,” he added.

The ODM party leader also expressed confidence in the Azimio coalition winning both the Mombasa and Kakamega governor elections, saying that his campaign team had worked hard to woo voters to their side.

Mr Odinga who was meeting members of his campaign board chaired by former Laikipia Governor Ndiritu Muriithi also asked voters to turn out in large numbers and elect Azimio candidates in the six MP seats whose election will also take place on Monday. 

“This board has steered the campaign and has been designing strategies for our campaigns and I am very grateful for the job that they have done so far. We have already filed a petition at the Supreme Court and are eagerly waiting for the outcome,” Mr Odinga said.

Mr Muriithi on the other hand said that the coalition had done all it could to ensure that it retains the governor seats in both Kakamega and Mombasa counties as well as to win the other six MP seats.