Nairobi, Kenya (PANA) – Kenya’s Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD), the country’s main opposition party, has abandoned demands for national dialogue and now wants a national referendum.
CORD, led by former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, said at a rally in the nation’s capital, Nairobi, that it would form a committee to collect one million signatures across the country to come up with referendum questions.
Its decision came after it became apparent that the Government was not ready to dialogue with the opposition.
“We have decided to convene an all-inclusive National Referendum Committee (NRC) for the purpose of preparing the people of Kenya for a national referendum on the critical challenges facing our nation,” Senator Boni Khalwale announced.
“We shall mandate the National Referendum Committee to ensure the maximum participation of the people of Kenya in the referendum all over Kenya in formulating the referendum questions, collecting and collating one million signatures to initiate the referendum,” Khalwale said.
The opposition has also formed a movement called Okoa Kenya (OK). Okoa is Swahili word for save or rescue.
CORD has been demanding a national dialogue with the ruling Jubilee Coalition, led by President Uhuru Kenyatta, to address pertinent issues affecting Kenyans.
The Government initially sent a mixed signal, with President Kenyatta saying he was ready for dialogue and his deputy William Ruto saying the Government was not ready to hold talks with non-elected officials.
Later, the President apparently changed his mind and ruled out a national dialogue, bowing to pressure from hardliners in the Jubilee Coalition.
Apart from Odinga, the other CORD principals are former Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka and former Foreign Minister (now Senator) Moses Wetangula.
