3 Apr. (EUROPE PRESS) –
The president of Kenya, William Ruto, has confirmed this Monday his willingness to negotiate a reform of the electoral commission, a body that since his triumph at the polls has been a reason for disagreement with the opposition and one of the main spurs of the protests that are taking place. They have been celebrating in recent months.
“I have always been ready to involve all Kenyans (…) to make our country better and more prosperous. My door still remains open for honest, objective and candid deliberations, based on the rule of law and the Constitution” , Ruto has expressed, in a speech collected by ‘Daily Nation’.
Despite the fact that he has stressed the legality of his victory at the polls, given the magnitude of the protests, Ruto has finally given in and has proposed launching a “bipartisan compromise” in Parliament for the reconstitution of the electoral commission “within the parameters of the law and the Constitution”.
The opposition has been holding an average of two demonstrations a week in protest against the high price of basic products, although the reform of an electoral commission and the questioning of Ruto’s victory are the leitmotiv of a protest that has already left three dead, among them they a policeman.
Opposition leader and former prime minister Raila Odinga has welcomed Ruto’s decision, but has warned that protests will resume if he reneges on his promise to create a bipartisan parliamentary committee. “We can embrace dialogue as long as he is ready to put all the issues we are talking about on the table,” he told the BBC.
