We have just concluded one of the most close elections in Kenya's history and no one could have anticipated the outcome. With William Ruto having been declared the winner of this election, it is time to focus on the next journey of building the nation.
This is one election where people cannot cry foul because we have all seen how transparent it was. The IEBC ensured that all of us saw everything that was happening and we even got the chance to get all the forms.
Both sides of the political divide including political pundits had predicted that their respective sides would win with an overwhelming majority and this was not the case. But there can only be one winner and it is only prudent for Raila Odinga to concede.
He has the constitutional right to petition the Supreme Court if he feels aggrieved but this is an unnecessary battle. It is likely that the Supreme Court will not nullify this election as we have all seen how diligent the IEBC has been.
Firstly, let's give credit where it's due. The IEBC may not have conducted the most seamless election but they overall did an outstanding job. We can all fault them for doing many things, including the excruciatingly long time it took to make the final announcement, but it was better to make the nation wait and make the correct announcements.
Also, the 2017 election petition had a major effect on the IEBC and they were able to correct most of the irregularities that had been flagged by the Supreme Court, including the open displaying of forms 34B, which anyone could download and calculate.
With the announcement of Ruto as the winner after such an open and involving process, one can only conclude that it is a long shot to go to the Supreme Court. It will therefore be prudent to let the country move forward.
I would like to urge the Azimio side, for the sake of peace, to accept the results and avoid a Supreme Court petition. This will allow the nation to heal faster and get back to its business as we have been unproductive for a long time, especially during the election week.
A runoff at this time will favour Ruto, and increase the current margin significantly because he now has momentum that cannot be broken. The deep state and system myth has been debunked and voters will be ruthless against anything aligned with the government in the second round.
We have all agreed time and again that this country is larger than one individual and it is time Kenyans called a bluff on tactics of trying to force them to move in a certain direction that is not guided by law.
We must also congratulate Kenyans for having stayed calm even with the incitement that we have seen by some leaders. Kenyans must maintain the same peace and brotherliness that has been witnessed as we give the Supreme Court time to guide the nation on the way forward, if we get to that.
For Ruto and President Uhuru Kenyatta, theirs is to ensure that the country goes through a smooth transition. Even though they have not seen eye to eye previously, it is time they put their differences aside and ensure that Kenya moves on and gets a government that can work.
It is time to put in place all the mechanisms necessary to ensure that the economy works and that Kenyans earn an honest living. It is time to put in place all the plans that the government has to ensure that Kenya works for everyone.
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