Odinga Rejects Kenyan’s Presidential Result

Veteran Kenyan politician Raila Odinga promised on Tuesday to seek “all constitutional and legal alternatives” after rejecting the results of last week’s election, which gave his rival William Ruto the presidency.

“I do not want to fully address our strategies going forward, but we will be pursuing all constitutional and legal options available to us,” he told reporters a day after the results were announced, without specifying if he would issue a court challenge

In a news conference on Tuesday, Odinga referred to the results of the election on August 9 as “a disgrace.” He has previously charged that he was cheated out of winning the presidential elections in 2007, 2013, and 2017.

In a hotly contested race last week, Odinga lost to Ruto by just 230,000 votes, prompting protests from his supporters in certain places and a rift among the electoral commission in charge of the election.

“What we saw yesterday (Monday) was a travesty and a blatant disregard of the constitution of Kenya,” the 77-year-old former prime minister said.

“We totally and without reservations reject the presidential results.”

The results of the election will be closely monitored as a test of the powerhouse nation in East Africa’s democratic development after allegations of cheating and bloodshed marred past polls.

Both front-runners promised to settle any issues in court rather than on the streets while they were still in the race.

Despite the calm Tuesday, violent protests broke out on Monday night in Odinga’s strongholds in the Nairobi slums and the lakeside city of Kisumu.

Odinga on Tuesday commended his supporters “for remaining calm and keeping the peace”.

“Let no one take the law into their own hands,” he said.