Nasa presidential candidate Raila Odinga has today finally withdrawn from the October 26th election. This comes just one day after President Uhuru dared Raila to go ahead and withdraw.
The consequence of his decision to pull out of the race will probably get a Supreme Court touch, when the Maraga led court is called upon to provide their interpretation of the law.
IEBC holds that Raila’s withdrawal has been overtaken by time because it did not happen within 3 days of the candidates being gazetted. However, Raila argues that in 2013, the Supreme Court expanded the meaning of Article 138(8) (b) to include withdrawal of a presidential candidate.
“The Supreme Court clarified that the relevant article is 138 (8) (b) which deals with cancellation of a presidential election, in the event of the death of the president or the deputy, on or before the scheduled date. The Supreme Court expanded the clause to include when a candidate withdraws from the presidential election,” Raila said.