Raila hints at giving room for talks with Ruto, outlines 3 irreducible minimums
As President William Ruto marks six months at the helm of the country, Azimio leader Raila Odinga has made a point of suggesting he is open for talks despite previous evidence to the contrary.
In an interview with local media, Raila however gave three irreducible minimums which he maintains Ruto must meet to create room for negotiations in the near future.
These he says include the opening of IEBC servers, addressing the increasing cost of living, and immediate halt of the recruitment process of the IEBC commissioners since they can't be appointed by one side of the government.
"In the last three general elections, we did not just move on. At first, we agreed on sharing responsibilities after a dialogue with then-President Mwai Kibaki. During Uhuru's tenure, we signed an MOU and set up a task force for recommendations which birthed BBI. Regardless of the handshake, I did not get even a quarter of the loaf. This time, I will not stop the mass action."
"I will not drop the barazas but can consider it on three conditions; First, Ruto must agree to open the server, he must stop recruitment of IEBC commissioners and third he should address the issue of the cost of living in the country," he noted.
His remarks came amid calls for mass action as he plans to convene public barazas on the way forward.
Even when seemingly indicating a willingness to negotiate, the former Prime Minister is adamant about conceding defeat and maintains that he will not acknowledge President William Ruto's declared win in the August 9 polls.
Raila noted that this time he will not forget and move on.
"Ruto is an imposter; he didn’t win the elections. He knows it is the winner of the elections who should be in the seat but he is even resisting the opening of the server. He doesn't want the servers to be audited because he thinks we will forget and move on," he stated.
Adding;
"We will not forget and move on, because the future of this country depends on this. The servers must be opened. If he knows he won the elections, why does he fear?" he piqued.
