His chosen successor the youthful Uhuru Kenyatta son of the first president was decisively defeated by the National Alliance Rainbow Coalition (NARC) an alliance of the 'Rainbow Coalition' of KANU defectors around Raila Odinga Kalonzo Musyoka and George Saitoti and the 'National Alliance' of Mwai Kibaki Charity Ngilu and Kijana Wamalwa which – through Kibaki's Democratic Party - had been the enduring centre of political opposition to KANU since 1991...
He famously urged Raila Odinga to 'get over' his defeat...
At the same time some in Raila Odinga's opposition National Super Alliance (Nasa) have been talking up their support for Maraga making a blatantly opportunist appeal to the Chief Justice's Kisii community...
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Raila Odinga's last bid for the presidency crashed days after the general elections on 8 August leaving oppositionists facing hard choices about their political survival...
Crying foulShortly after results were posted on the live stream showing that the President had established a healthy lead Raila Odinga and his National Super Alliance (Nasa) rejected them calling the process of counting and tallying into question...
4 million more than challenger Raila Odinga on 44...
Specifically the careers of three men hang on the outcome: President Kenyatta; Deputy President William Ruto who hopes that the alliance between his Kalenjin constituency and Kenyatta's Kikuyu will bring him the presidency four years from now; and serial presidential candidate Raila Odinga for whom at 72 this is the last chance of the top job...
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Earlier this year most pollsters and independent analysts reckoned that President Uhuru Kenyatta would win easily against challenger Raila Odinga...
For Raila Odinga's Nasa campaign the biggest problems are organisational: will his alliance of four political chiefs stick together and are his loyalists well organised enough on the ground to get out the vote and protect it...
In 2013 the disappointment of supporters of opposition leader Raila Odinga at losing the presidential contest to Uhuru Kenyatta was offset by impressive victories for his Coalition for Reform and Democracy (CORD) at other levels...
He stood on the Kenya African National Union ticket of the then President Daniel arap Moi before switching to the Orange Democratic Movement of opposition leader Raila Odinga...
Lempurkel was elected for opposition leader Raila Odinga's Orange Democratic Movement in 2013 and now faces a Jubilee challenger Sarah Korere whom he is accused of assaulting last November...