Threats, intimidation main hurdles to free elections, DP Ruto says
As Kenya prepares for the August 9 polls, Deputy President William Ruto has singled out blackmail, threats and intimidation as some of the main hurdles to free elections.
Ruto, speaking in Maryland as part of his US visit, stated that Kenyans want to choose their preferred leaders without being intimidated by anyone, especially the state apparatus, which has been on the lookout for some candidates ahead of the elections.
The key topic on the ballot in the 2018 elections, according to the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party head, is the country’s democracy, whether voters are given the opportunity to make their own decisions free of extortion, threats and intimidation.
“That is the matter that is on the ballot, and that is a matter that many Kenyans in fact, if you understand a little bit of Kiswahili, that is what informs the current push by many Kenyans to say hatupangwingwi. Meaning: (we want to make our own choices without being choreographed, chaperoned, blackmailed or intimidated),” Ruto said.
He also condemned the discrimination of African immigrants attempting to cross the Ukrainian border amid the ongoing conflict with Russia.
“It is said that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere, so whatever is happening whether in Ukraine or in any part of the globe is a source of concern for all of us,” Ruto said.
DP Ruto further stated that the August 9 polls will also give Kenyans an opportunity to make important decisions about the country’s economy and its democratisation pointing out that “there is a feeling that our economy has been captured and curtailed and brokered and become exclusionist.”
He added that his administration will be pushing for an all-inclusive economy once he is elected into office.
