Kenya’s Veteran politician & presidential candidate Raila Odinga vows to pursue ‘legal options’ over vote defeat

Kenya’s veteran politician and presidential candidate Raila Odinga on Tuesday vowed to pursue all constitutional and legal options after rejecting the outcome of last week’s election that handed the presidency to his rival William Ruto.

Mr Odinga was talking to reporters a day after the announcement of results for the Presidential election held on 9th of August. He described the outcome as a travesty and a blatant disregard of the constitution of Kenya.

Last week’s closely fought race saw Odinga lose to Ruto by a narrow margin of around 230,000 votes, sparking protests by his supporters in some areas as well as triggering a split within the electoral body overseeing the poll.

The poll’s aftermath is being keenly watched as a test of democratic maturity in the East African powerhouse where previous elections have been tarnished by claims of rigging and bloodshed.