A section of Opposition leaders has accused Deputy President William Ruto of hindering the achievement of an agreement during Tuesday's State House meeting between the government and the CORD coalition.
DP Ruto allegedly maintained that no talks regarding the reconstitution of IEBC could take place between the Government and the Opposition unless done in Parliament and within the confines of the Constitution.
"The DP has been opposed to any talks between us and the Government. The President was quite willing to give this issue a try but the DP insisted that can only happen within Parliament," the Standard quotes an Opposition politician who declined to be named.
Another CORD member was quoted saying: "The DP has never been receptive towards CORD's calls for dialogue yet we have done so in good faith. This was demonstrated by his tough stand on the stalled State House talks".
Ruto’s spokesman David Mugonyi, however, denied the claims stating that the only people who could confirm what transpired during the State House talks were those present at the meeting.
"Anything else is outsider rumour-mongering. Those behind that talk and their masters suffer Rutophobia and they know why. How can one gauge who is good or bad in an encounter of five minutes," Mr Mugonyi asked.
"We have heard this cheap and desperate talk for the last three years. The architects think it will divide the Government. It has come to naught."
Speaking at Uhuru Park rally on Wednesday, CORD leader Raila Odinga hit out at Ruto over his assertions that nothing could be done outside Parliament regarding the IEBC matter.
"We want peaceful talks. Talks cannot only be done in Parliament in accordance with the law. We are following the law in our request," Raila said.
While addressing Kenyans at Afraha Stadium to mark the 53rd Madaraka Day celebrations, Ruto reiterated his stand that the Opposition must follow the law.
"Kenyans overwhelmingly passed the Constitution. We cannot allow business whereby a few people meet over a cup of tea to decide issues, this is taking us backwards. Now there are claims that there is a problem with IEBC and the Judiciary," Ruto said. "The Constitution has created institutions, we cannot act on the whims of a few”.
Meanwhile, State House has denied media reports that Odinga and President Uhuru Kenyatta agreed to form a 10 member team that would commence negotiations on how to rebuild the electoral body.
Read More: State House Denies Agreement With Raila
