ODM leader Raila Odinga has assured his competitors that he will concede defeat if he loses the 2022 presidential contest.
The former Prime Minister who will be giving his fifth stab at the presidency said he is a democrat adding that losing and winning is part of the contest.
In an interview with Citizen TV on Wednesday, December 29, the opposition chief however stated that he will only concede defeat if he loses the 2022 presidential contest fairly.
“As a democrat, you must accept to win or lose …I will concede if I lose the polls fairly. Nobody should have any worries about that,
“Asiyekubali kushindwa si mshindani (He who does not accept defeat is not a competitor),” Raila Odinga said.
It should be remembered that President Uhuru Kenyatta’s handshake partner has protested three of the recent presidential results.
During the 2007 General Election, the then ODM candidate protested the presidential results that were announced by the Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK) chairman Samwel Kivuitu resulting in post-election violence where hundreds of innocent Kenyans lost their lives and thousands of others rendered homeless.
In the 2013 General Election, Raila again protested the election results after he lost to President Uhuru Kenyatta. Raila challenged President Uhuru’s win at the Supreme Court which later upheld Uhuru’s win.
In the 2017 elections, the ODM leader again lost to Uhuru and moved to the Supreme Court which nullified the presidential elections and announced a fresh voting exercise in which he absconded.
Raila’s remarks to concede defeat if he loses come after barely months after the Tanga Tanga political faction has been pressuring the ODM leader to assure Kenyans that he will concede the loss.
“It’s obvious that Raila is running for president. I am however hoping that Raila will announce that he will accept defeat if he doesn’t win,” Uasin Gishu Woman Rep Gladys Shollei said.
