Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga withdraws from poll re-run

(FILES) This file photo taken on September 1, 2017 shows Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga waving to supporters as he leaves the Supreme Court in Nairobi. Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga announced on October 10, 2017 that he was withdrawing from a re-run of the presidential election, saying electoral officials had failed to make necessary reforms. / AFP PHOTO / SIMON MAINA

Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga withdrew Tuesday from a re-run of the presidential election, saying electoral officials had failed to make necessary reforms.
“After deliberating on our position in respect of the upcoming election… we believe that all will be best served by (the party) vacating its presidential candidature in the election scheduled for 26 October 2017,” Odinga said.
Kenya’s Supreme Court last month annulled the August presidential poll, won by President Uhuru Kenyatta, due to widespread irregularities in the counting process.

Since then Odinga and his National Super Alliance (NASA) have vowed not to take part in the re-run unless a series of reforms were made to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).
“We have come to the conclusion that there is no intention on the part of the IEBC to undertake any changes to its operations and personnel… All indications are that the election scheduled for 26 October will be worse than the previous one,” said Odinga.