“We have come to the end of a fiercely competitive election primaries. To all people of Kenya, I urge for calm and reconciliation now that the primaries are over,” he appealed.
Although the violence was witnessed in Nyanza, a region considered his stronghold, the PM said it could not be used to gauge his popularity.
Raila dismissed as speculation fears that the chaos may dent his quest for the presidency, reiterating that the mess witnessed was not a party affair, but an unfortunate occurrence. “I represent Nairobi and have a national support base. I was not present in these areas and the failures should not be blamed on me,” he said.
Despite Raila’s home turf being Nyanza, he sought to set the record straight that his political backyard is Nairobi. “I am a national leader with support across all the regions in the country,” hetold journalists.
He also said assumptions that he might lose support as a result of the violence were not based on any facts. The Prime Minister said his party had relied on information received from returning officers.
Raila said the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) faced challenges in three out of the 47counties and thus could not be perceived to limit his presidential chances.
“The violence was isolated in some areas. The incidents are unfortunate but it’s time to put everything behind and move forward united as a country,” he urged.
The PM, without mentioning the counties, made reference to Kisumu, Homa Bay and Siaya, where he said ODM had tried to resolve the disputes amicably. “We will try to make the best out of the challenges the party faced. We will ratify those mistakes and move forward,” he said.
Raila noted that the huge interest in the party ticket was clearly a manifestation of the strong desire for change and that CORD was the force for change. - The Standard
