Raila: Heres my one condition for dialogue with Uhuru

National Super Alliance (NASA) leader Raila Odinga has said the opposition is willing to dialogue with the Jubilee administration to end the current political stalemate precipitated by the controversial October 26 repeat presidential election.

In his first public address since Uhuru Kenyatta was declared winner of the repeat poll, Mr Odinga on Tuesday (October 31) said “NASA is for dialogue. All political differences are resolved through dialogue.”

However, as a condition for the talks, the opposition chief maintained that the dialogue ought to be about having a free and fair election and not a “private arrangement” between him and the president.

“Before engaging in dialogue, we must be clear what differences we are sitting down to resolve. Suggestions have been made that what is needed is a compromise between Jubilee and NASA. There are even those who see the crisis as nothing more than a personal feud between Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga that could be resolved by private arrangement. This view is mistaken,“ said Odinga in a press address held at the Wiper Party headquarters in Lavington, Nairobi.

Odinga noted that the political crisis currently facing the country is about free and fair elections “specifically and fundamentally about democracy, constitutionalism and the rule of law.”

“The Supreme Court ordered a repeat election held in compliance with the constitution and the law. The order has not been complied with. It must be. It is in our best interest that we do so sooner rather than later,” said Odinga.

In his acceptance speech after being declared winner of the October 26 election, President Kenyatta on Monday pre-empted that Odinga would be heading back to court to once again challenge his victory.

Kenyatta went ahead to ask his political rivals in the National Super Alliance (NASA) to use and exhaust all the available constitutional processes to seek redress, before he can sit to dialogue.

“Let them (opposition) first exhaust the constitutionally laid out processes, let them go to court, let them do whatever they want. Nobody shall deny them of their constitutional right. As to my agenda going forward, I  will discuss once the processes (legal battles) are over,” said Kenyatta at Bomas of Kenya, after he was declared winner.

At the same time, Odinga dismissed the just concluded vote as a “charade purported to be an election”.

“On 26th October, the IEBC at the behest of the Jubilee candidates defied the court, reason, national and international public opinion and their own assessment as revealed by ex-commissioner Roselyn Akombe and confirmed by Chairman Wafula Chebukati, and conducted a sham election. We consistently warned that this election was going to be much worse than the previous one. It came to pass. The whole world witnessed that there was no election,” the NASA leader said.

The former premier maintained that the opposition would continue “to assemble, to demonstrate, to picket and to present petitions to public authorities as often as we choose”.