The Azimio leader said the electoral agency chairman lost the trust of Kenyans after he bungled the August 9 general election and was disowned by four of his commissioners.
The Mombasa and Kakamega governor elections were first postponed on August 9 after the commission discovered some errors on the ballot papers.
The elections were then scheduled for August 23, but were again put off.
On Monday, during a meeting with the candidates in Nairobi, Chebukati confirmed Monday, August 29, as the new date for the pending elections.
However, speaking on Wednesday during a meeting at Wild Waters Complex to rally support for the ODM Mombasa governor candidate Abdulswamad Nassir, Raila said the IEBC chairman should disqualify himself from the polls.
“Chebukati, who is now an accused person, should disqualify himself from all the pending elections. He should allow the polls to be conducted by non-partisan individuals,” the ODM chief said.
“We are saying, the Kakamega and Mombasa gubernatorial elections should be conducted under the leadership of the IEBC vice chairperson Juliana Cherera.”
The electoral agency, in a rejoinder, termed Raila's claim as misleading, saying the elections will be conducted by respective gazetted returning officers.
"The commission wishes to inform the public that the statements made today (Wednesday) by former Prime Minister Raila Odinga with regard to the role of the chairman in the two gubernatorial elections scheduled for Monday 29th August 2022 are misleading," the agency tweeted.
"Gubernatorial elections are run by gazetted returning officers as provided for by the law. For avoidance of doubt, returning officers for Mombasa and Kakamega counties are Ibrahim Swalhah Yusuf and Joseph Ayatta, respectively."
Raila also said they are confident that the petition filed at the Supreme Court challenging the IEBC’s decision to declare UDA leader William Ruto the President-elect will carry the day.
On Monday, Raila led the Azimio brigade to file a petition at the apex court in Nairobi, challenging Ruto's win.
“We have concrete evidence that the election was stolen and we are asking the Supreme Court that, instead of Kenyans going for repeat election, they should just declare Raila Odinga the President-elect,” he said.
The Azimio leader accused Ruto of trying to buy MPs to support him even before even the Supreme Court case is concluded.
“He is busy trying to buy leaders and MPs, calling himself President-elect. We will prove to them who is the President-elect,” he said.
Raila was speaking in Mombasa for the first time since the August 9 poll.
Accompanied by his running mate Martha Karua and a host of elected leaders from the region, Raila drummed up support for the ODM Mombasa governor candidate Nassir.
Karua said they won the August 9 general election.
“I want to assure you we have enough evidence and our lawyers are working to ensure justice is served, therefore, do not be afraid,” she said.
The Narc Kenya leader rallied the Azimio supporters in Mombasa to carry out a door-to-door campaign to ensure that they vote in large numbers on Monday for Nassir.
“We have 24 counties behind Raila Odinga, whereas they (UDA) have only 21. We are sure that we will win Mombasa and Kakamega counties,” she said.
Nassir said the postponement of the Mombasa governor elections was well calculated to ensure there is voter apathy in the regions perceived to be Raila’s strongholds.
He said he is sure the Azimio will take over the Mombasa seat because, so far, they have won 26 out of the 30 MCA seats and five out of six MP seats.
“Please tell us the scientific method that they will use to steal the votes in Mombasa and Kakamega counties, which voted overwhelmingly for Azimio,” the outgoing Mvita MP said.
Others who spoke during the event include MPs Mishi Mboko (Likoni), Badi Twaliv (Jomvu), Rashid Bedzimba (Kisauni) and Omar Mwinyi (Changamwe), among others.
(edited by Amol Awuor)
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