Azimio presidential candidate, Raila Odinga, has rubbished claims by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Chairman, Wafula Chebukati, that there were attempts to manipulate the outcome of the August 9 presidential vote.
Speaking on Sunday, August 28, at the AIC Olympic Church in Kibra, Raila wondered why Chebukati waited until the eleventh hour to reveal the alleged attempt to bribe election officials.
He further challenged the IEBC Chair to table evidence on the alleged attempts to bribe him and the other commissioners, adding that he was using it as a detour after failing to deliver a credible election.
"Who was trying to bribe him and how much was he offered? He initially said that they wanted to attack him, now he claims that they wanted to bribe him?
"You failed to execute your duties yet you came out chest-thumping claiming that you knew what was happening," Raila remarked.
The former Prime Minister faulted the divisions in the Commission evidenced by the split of the commissioners as a clear indication that the August 9 poll had been compromised.
He further defended his decision to file a petition challenging the election of United Democratic Alliance (UDA) flagbearer, William Ruto, as the fifth President of Kenya at the Supreme Court, terming it as a quest to establish the truth.
"Between the two groups, it is the truth I want to be told. Not just because of the 2022 elections but for posterity so that we do not have such charades in future elections.
"It is a shame for democracy. These people are trying to stage a civilian coup and Kenyans will not allow it," Raila reiterated.
The African Union High Representative for Infrastructure Development added that he will accept the decision of the Apex Court, with hope that his prayers would be granted by the seven-Judge bench.
"I am not scared. If I won, I won, if I lost, I will admit that I have lost. I am certain that I won and I will stand unshaken and the voice of the people of Kenya must be respected in the world," he reiterated.
In his response to the petition filed by Azimio la Umoja, commissioner Abdi Guliye claimed that former Attorney General, Amos Wako, and Azimio Executive Director, Raphael Tuju, attempted to offer the IEBC boss rewards to manipulate the outcome of the polls.
"Wako indicated that they had come to ask the Commission not to operate ‘in a vacuum’, and that it must consider the link between the election results to be declared and the stability of the country, which he described as the bigger picture," read Guliye's affidavit in part.
