Uhuru And Chebukati Hold Talks Ahead Of Repeat Presidential Elections

President Uhuru Kenyatta on Monday held talks with IEBC Chairman Wafula Chebukati at Harambee House.

The two met to discuss preparations to Thursday’s October 26 repeat presidential election with Uhuru confirming that he had no demands for the electoral body other than it meeting its obligation of conducting the polls as ordered by the Supreme Court.

Deputy President William Ruto was also in attendance at the meeting.

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“We made it clear that we have no demands or conditions on this subject. We have made funds available for the IEBC to do its job. Now they really should deliver,” Uhuru said after the meeting.

“We only insist that elections be held on October 26, that’s the timeline set by the IEBC in terms of conditions set in the aulment of the August 8 elections.”

So far, preparations are underway for the elections with the IEBC having already started distributing poll materials on Monday.

President Kenyatta has campaigned vigorously in all counties for his re-election in preparation for the repeat presidential election as his opponent, Raila Odinga, pulled out of the elction citing a conspiracy to rig the polls. He also said the the electoral body has failed to perform the reforms requested by the courts.

Raila has since then called for mass protests on election day, also urging his supporters to picket outside IEBC offices on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Read Also: Kenya’s Presidential Re-run: What If Uhuru Is Not Declared The Wier?

Western diplomats led by United States ambassador to Kenya, Robert Godec, have condemned Raila’s appraoch of disrupting the polls.

They, however, said they respect the opposition’s decision to withdraw from the polls but urged them to reconsider boycotting the election.

Godec said that while the IEBC has not conceded to several major demands from the opposition, such as the firing of certain staff, and a change in providers of electoral materials and technology, they had made several important changes to appease the opposition.