Ruto dismisses Raila’s call for elections

Deputy President William Ruto has dismissed Opposition leader Raila Odinga’s call for fresh elections, saying it is misguided.

The Jubilee Alliance Party had the same message for the Cord leader, accusing him of seeking to destabilise the country.
Mr Ruto, who was speaking yesterday at the Kinoru Methodist Church in Meru County, said the Jubilee administration’s critics could not see anything good being done.

He said the Opposition was turning a blind eye to the construction of the standard gauge railway and 10,000 kilometres of roads, the government’s support for devolution, the scrapping of national examination fees and the expansion of NHIF benefits.

“I want to remind them that if they do not know that there is transformation happening in Kenya, then they cannot change.”
On Saturday, Mr Odinga said President Kenyatta had failed to tackle corruption in his government, hence should call fresh elections.

That would be the only way to “save our country from total collapse”, he said, arguing that the government had become dysfunctional right from the top.

However, Mr Ruto said an election was not an end in itself but a means to an end. “As leaders, we should not confuse elections and the agenda for Kenya. The agenda for this country is greater than elections,” he said.

The Deputy President said leaders were not chosen through elections. “It is God who elects leaders through the people,” he said.
He said the Opposition leaders had no agenda for Kenya, arguing that the country could not be changed through mere rhetoric.

“ If the Opposition does not have an idea of where we want to take Kenya, how can elections help them?”

Education Cabinet Secretary Jacob Kaimenyi, Governor Peter Munya, Senator Kiraitu Murungi and Woman MP Florence Kajuju, among other lawmakers, accompanied the Deputy President.

JACOB KAIMENYI

Prof Kaimenyi dismissed claims that the ministry was usurping the roles of the Teachers Service Commission, saying it was only ensuring accountability in learning institutions.
Senator Kiraitu dismissed Cord’s referendum plan, saying the Opposition only wanted to test waters ahead of the 2017 elections.

Separately, the Jubilee Alliance Party (JAP) said Mr Odinga’s call for a fresh election was wishful thinking.
The party’s Vice-Chairman, Mr David Murathe, said Cord had embarked on a deliberate effort to create uncertainty and fear with the aim of pushing for early elections.

“This is a sign of panic, wishful thinking and daydreaming,” he told the Nation. “This does not even call for a response, but since the party leader has talked, I am telling him to cool his heels because there will no elections any time soon.”

Mr Murathe said Cord should wait for 2033 if it hopes to govern. “That is the earliest they can have a real chance of governing this country or being elected into the high office.”

JAP is a union of President Kenyatta’s The National Alliance and Mr Ruto’s United Republican Party.