Kenya’s opposition leader Raila Odinga has made fresh demands that risk rocking the bipartisan talks opened by President William Ruto on Sunday.
Mr Odinga on Monday suspended protests and agreed to hold talks on electoral reforms with President Ruto.
President Ruto said the bi-partisan engagement will strictly be done in parliament on the reconstitution of the electoral commission. He did not touch on how his government intends to address the country’s high cost of living as demanded by the opposition.
Mr Odinga has now demanded immediate steps by the government to lower the cost of living and President Ruto to expand the talks beyond parliament.
He said a parliamentary process may not address their concerns and proposes the formation of a team akin to the 2008 National Accord, which was brokered by the then UN chief Koffi Annan.
“We assure our people and Kenyans that our eyes are firmly on the ball, and reiterate that we shall go back to the people at the earliest sign of lack of seriousness by the other side,” Mr Odinga said on Tuesday.
The opposition chief also claimed there were attempts to tamper with the electoral servers, which he demands to be forensically audited.
The ruling United Democratic Alliance (UDA) accused Mr Odinga of holding the proposed talks at ransom and dismissed his fresh demands as unreasonable.
Speaking in Rwanda on Tuesday, President Ruto ruled out the possibility of any agreement that would co-opt the opposition into his government.
Mr Odinga had called for protests twice a week after rejecting the outcome of last year’s election and criticising the government’s handling of the cost-of-living crisis.
He has threatened to resume anti-government protests if President William Ruto’s administration fails to address his concerns.
Source: Ghana News
