By Antony Oyugi
IEBC Chairman Wafula Chebukati has announced Deputy President William Ruto as President-elect. This must have been shocking to Azimio-One Kenya Alliance supporters. Our expectations were high that Raila Odinga would not just win but win with a landslide. The result has been a great disappointment to us.
The most intriguing revelation in this election has been the disclosure by 4 of the 7 IEBC commissioners that they’re not part and parcel of the final result announced by their Chairman. They’ve dissociated themselves from the results.
What next
The coming days will be interesting politically and legally. There is a likelihood that Raila Odinga will petition the Supreme Court seeking to nullify the election. The Azimio team alleges massive electoral fraud. There are allegations that in some instances no proper verification of the relevant forms was done at the national tallying level. The 4 commissioners and the Azimio Chief Agent have gone further to claim that the process was opaque at the last minute and that neither the Azimio agents nor a section of the IEBC commissioners were briefed on the process. If these allegations are sufficiently proven at the Supreme Court and considering the margin between Ruto and Raila chances of a reelection are high
But then what’s Raila’s hope if we go for a reelection. Does he have the numbers to make amends? Does he have the support base that can increase his numbers sufficiently?
My take is that this election is DONE. I’m persuaded by the low turnout in Mt Kenya region and the slightly higher turnout in Luo Nyanza and other traditional Raila strongholds like Western and the Coast. Politics is all about perception and the general masses tend to side with what they perceive to be the winning side. On Luo Nyanza I don’t see Raila’s numbers changing drastically based on what just transpired in Luo Nyanza thanks to the circus we call Six Piece.
This things looks DONE!
