On August 9, 2022, Kenyans will vote for their fifth president in which Deputy President William Ruto and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga are front runners.
The Deputy President will be giving his first attempt at the presidency while Raila will be giving his fifth and most realistic chance based on his advanced age.
Should United Democratic Alliance (UDA) presidential front runner William Ruto win, he will become the first-ever sitting deputy president to succeed his boss through an election.
Speaking in Turkana County on Monday, July 11, Ruto told Azimio la Umoja-One Kenya Coalition party presidential candidate Raila Odinga not to expect a handshake in the event he loses the presidential racee.
Ruto said the threat by Odinga to boycott the election if the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) does not use the manual voter register is aimed at forcing his way into the next government “as he did in 2017 and 2018.”
“You threatened people in 2017 and thought there would be no elections. After you boycotted the election, you blackmailed your way into the handshake government. That was the end of the blackmail, threats, and games you have played,” Ruto said.
While accusing Raila of having a tendency of forcing his way into the government even after losing, the former Agriculture Minister said that his main challenger in the August 9, elections has realized that he has no numbers and that the deep state is not helping him.
After the dramatic 2017 presidential elections, the then NASA presidential flag bearer Raila Odinga swore himself in as the ‘People’s President’ leading to his handshake with President Uhuru Kenyatta in March 2018.
