Former US Secretary of State John Kerry has challenged both Presidential candidates in Kenya, President Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga to accept defeat if it comes on either of them.
“I know what it means to lose an election. You however must move on. If it’s Mr. Kenyatta who loses, he must be prepared to cede power. If it’s Mr. Odinga, he must be ready to accept,” he said.
Kerry spoke at a press briefing when he gave Carter Centre’s election observation preliminary report.
He said he witnessed the whole process and it was transparent.
The Former US Secretary of State spoke against the backdrop of growing voices of dissent from NASA which maintains IEBC systems were hacked into and tilted results in favor of President Uhuru Kenyatta.
He said he has met the NASA team led by Raila Odinga and listened to their concerns which he believes should be acted upon.
However, he noted, it was wrong for the opposition leaders to issue “loose statements”.
“You can have a leader saying to his supporters remain calm but when required, we will call you to action. That doesn’t help,” he scoffed.
Kerry said he ran for Presidency in the US back in 2004 and his bid failed. Since then, he said, he dealt with his disappointment and has moved on.
“I had a lot of issues to raise about my loss in Ohio State, but I moved on,” he said in reference to urging whoever loses in Kenyan polls to accept defeat and move on.
The IEBC is expected to announce the winner of Presidential polls today.
President Uhuru Kenyatta is polling at 8, 174, 741 votes while his NASA challenger Raila Odinga is at 6.760, 801 votes.
.