Politics is not a matter of life and death – John Mahama tells Kenyans

Former President John Mahama is urging political leaders in Kenya not to shed blood asking Raila Odinga and Uhuru Kenyatta to accept the outcome of the August 8 elections.

According to him, there is no need for violence.

However, opposition presidential candidate Raila Odinga has said the electoral commission’s IT system has been hacked to manipulate the election results.

He rejected provisional results from Tuesday’s vote indicating a strong lead for President Uhuru Kenyatta.
Kenya’s election chief Wafula Chebukati said he had confidence in the system but the claims would be investigated.
Many fear a repeat of the violence after a disputed election 10 years ago, and there have been calls for calm.

More than 1,100 Kenyans died and 600,000 were displaced following the 2007 vote.
Former President Mahama in an interview on BBC on Tuesday said “Politics is not a matter of life and death. You want to serve the people and so no blood must be shed because you want to serve people ..I have said before that the enemy of Kenyans is killing poverty and creating wealth and prosperity. It is not one’s ethnic affiliation, or religious affiliation, or political affiliation. The outcome of this election is that one person will win , another will lose.
READ MORE: Don’t shed blood because of elections – Mahama to Kenyans
play

“The winner must be magnanimous in victory, the loser must be gracious in defeat. Once we are able to get that together, I am sure we will be fine. The international community is watching all Kenyans. The whole world is watching BBC and CNN so the whole world’s attention is focused on Kenya and Kenyans must get it right.”