Government declares Wednesday, October 25 a public holiday
Wednesday, October 25, has been declared a public holiday. Acting Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiangi gazzetted the announcement in a special issue on Tuesday, October 24.According to the gazette notice signed by acting Interior CS Fred Matiang’i, the government’s decision to declare Wednesday, a day to the October 26 repeat presidential election, a public holiday was met to give every Kenyans ample time to participate in the fresh poll.“In exercise of powers conferred by section 3 of the Public Holidays Act, declares that Wednesday, the 25th October, 2017 be a public holiday to accord Kenyans the opportunity to participate in the Fresh Presidential Election,” read the gazette notice.The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) and the Jubilee government have maintained that the fresh election will go on as planned even after National Super Alliance presidential (NASA) candidate Raila Odinga withdrew from the poll.
BREAKING: @InteriorKE CS Matiang’i declares tomorrow a public holiday to allow Kenyans participate in Thursday’s repeat presidential poll. pic.twitter.com/cmtZHKpDMY
— Robin Njogu (@robinnjogu) October 24, 2017
On Tuesday, Odinga denied instructing supporters of the National Super Alliance to hold demonstrations during the repeat presidential election.Kenyans are set to return to the ballot in what was expected to be a grand rematch between President Uhuru Kenyatta and National Super Alliance presidential candidate Raila Odinga.In an interview with the BBC, Odinga urged his supporters to stay away from the election.Odinga’s remarks came barely hours after he held a rally in Kisii where he led Opposition leaders drawn from Kisii and Nyamira in declaring that there shall be no elections conducted in the two counties and his Kisumu backyard