Deputy President William Ruto has distanced himself from claims of premature campaigns by the electoral body ahead of next year’s General Election.
This comes just days after the Independent Elections and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) cautioned politicians including William Rut and ODM leader Raila Odinga against engaging in early 2022 campaigns.
But while responding to a question from a journalist after chairing an IBEC meeting at his Karen residence on Monday, November 22, the deputy president said his countrywide meetings are not campaigns but a ‘meet the people tour’ to seek and understand their views.
“I haven’t started the campaigns because the campaign period is not yet announced by IEBC, what you have seen me do is to do what my mandate is, speaking to people, understanding their issues, assessing the extent of our government programs on how far they are and receiving feedback from the public,” Ruto said.
Ruto who did more than 135 rallies during the month of October to campaign ahead of his titanic battle for the presidency with Raila Odinga further hit back at his critics who claimed that he was earning as deputy president yet he was working as a presidential aspirant.
“Maybe you haven’t seen me in a tie and I think that’s the problem. Government work can be done even without a tie,
“I think the only problem you have is that I have been working without being formally dressed. There’s no provision anywhere in the law that you must be in a tie to perform government work,” William Ruto said.
Last week, IEBC chairman Wafula Chebukati urged all politicians to refrain from early campaigns.
In a statement on Friday, November 19, Chebukati stated that early campaigns are undesirable and may upset the political environment in the lead-up to the upcoming General Election.
“The commission urges all political parties and aspirants to refrain from engaging in early campaigns prior to the 2022 General Election,” Chebukati said.
