Kenyan opposition demands candidate Odinga be declared election winner

Record ID: 906089

  • Title: Kenyan opposition demands candidate Odinga be declared election winner
  • Date: 11th August 2017
  • Summary: NAIROBI, KENYA (AUGUST 11, 2017) (REUTERS) ****WARNING: CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** NEWSPAPER STAND NEWSPAPER HEADLINE FROM THE STAR READING (English): "Chebukati (Chairman of the IEBC Wafula Chebukati) tells NASA: only IEBC can declare results" NEWSPAPER HEADLINE FROM THE STANDARD READING (English): "'Fresh twist in battle for State House" NEWSPAPER HEADLINE FROM DAILY NATION WITH PHOTOGRAPH OF FORMER U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE JOHN KERRY READING (English): "NASA declares poll victory in doomed move" NAIROBI, KENYA (AUGUST 10, 2017) (REUTERS) KENYAN OPPOSITION LEADER RAILA ODINGA ARRIVING FOR NEWS CONFERENCE WITH MUSALIA MUDAVADI, NATIONAL SUPER ALLIANCE (NASA) COALITION CHIEF AGENT (SOUNDBITE) (English) MUSALIA MUDAVADI, NATIONAL SUPER ALLIANCE (NASA) COALITION CHIEF AGENT, SAYING: "We have now received further information from confidential IEBC (Eds note: electoral commission) sources furnishing us with the actual presidential election results contained in their database. The data, which confirms the authentic and legitimate results of the presidential election, shows that the two leading candidates obtained the following votes: Raila Amolo Odinga, 8,041,726 votes. Uhuru Kenyatta, 7,755,428 votes." MEDIA (SOUNDBITE) (English) MUSALIA MUDAVADI, NATIONAL SUPER ALLIANCE (NASA) COALITION CHIEF AGENT, SAYING: "Based on the foregoing, we demand that the IEBC Chairperson announce the presidential election results forthwith and declare Rt. Hon. Raila Amolo Odinga and His Excellency Stephen Kalonzo Musyoka as the duly elected President and Deputy President of the Republic of Kenya respectively." PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE, RAILA ODINGA, STANDING NEXT TO MUDAVADI AT NEWS CONFERENCE NAIROBI, KENYA (AUGUST 11, 2017) (REUTERS) WOMAN READING THE NEWSPAPER AT NEWS STAND IN THE STREET WOMAN READING NEWSPAPER (SOUNDBITE) (Swahili) AGRI OLUWALE, WORKER, SAYING: "He (Odinga) needs to give the IEBC a chance to announce the winner based on the results that have come out from the entire country and not to force the IEBC to announce he has won." (SOUNDBITE) (English) CAROLINE WAMBUI, NAIROBI RESIDENT, SAYING: "He (Odinga) is not supposed to be declared because the results have not been really announced. He has to wait for the result." (SOUNDBITE) (English) JOSEPH, KENYAN, NAIROBI RESIDENT, SAYING: "Kenya is bigger than an individual or a group of individuals and by them breaking bread together will show all of us that we need to break bread together and get back to work. No matter what results come out, Kenya still needs to remain." VARIOUS OF PEOPLE WALKING IN THE STREETS STREET TRAFFIC WORKER SWEEPING THE ROAD
  • Embargoed: 25th August 2017 08:11
  • Keywords: Kenya Kenyan election Odinga NASA oppositon Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC)
  • Location: NAIROBI, KENYA
  • City: NAIROBI, KENYA
  • Country: Kenya
  • Topics: Government/Politics,Elections/Voting
  • Reuters ID: LVA0016TPPD8N
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Three days after the general election, Kenya's newspapers on Friday (August 11) all led with the National Super Alliance (NASA)'s claim that opposition leader Raila Odinga should be declared the new president, in a direct challenge to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) whose figures show a comfortable lead for his opponent Uhuru Kenyatta of the Jubilee Party.
    On Thursday (August 10), Musalia Mudavadi, a senior official in the opposition NASA coalition, told reporters that information from "confidential sources" at the election commission showed NASA leader Odinga had secured victory by just under 300,000 votes. He provided no evidence but demanded Odinga, standing quietly by him at the news conference, be declared winner.
    The statement contradicted official preliminary results released so far which showed incumbent President Kenyatta had won 54.2 percent of votes, ahead of Odinga on 44.9 percent - a lead of 1.4 million votes with 99 percent of polling stations reported.
    Later the commission provided a detailed rebuttal of the opposition claims, pointing out mathematical errors and saying documents purporting to be from their system "were plainly falsified and contain elementary errors."
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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