Nasa taunts Uhuru to agree to presidential debate
The National Super Alliance has urged President Uhuru Kenyatta to stop giving ‘excuses’ to evade the presidential debate slated for next Monday.
Nasa said their presidential candidate Raila Odinga is ready and willing to take part in the debate should his opponent confirm participation.
Nasa’s secretariat said it has held a number of meetings over the last three weeks with the Presidential Debates Commission to agree on the modalities of the debate.
At their final meeting last Thursday, Nasa and the commission reached an agreement on the principal points about the debate format, including the issues to be discussed, the moderators, the audience and the venue.
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“But the following morning, the Debate Commission informed us that there had been no response from Jubilee to what would be or not be acceptable to them in terms of the debate format,” Salim Lone, Nasa advisor, said in a statement.
He added: “Indeed, President Uhuru Kenyatta had earlier said that “we do not know what the ground rules are and so we will not participate.””
“Nasa is still ready to take part in the proposed debate as soon as Jubilee engages in agreeing on the “ground rules” that President Kenyatta used as the excuse to duck the debate, which Kenyans have come to expect as an essential platform for leaders to communicate their visions directly to them.”
Earlier Mr Odinga had also pulled out of the presidential debate moments after President Kenyatta had also announced his plans to not attend.
