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Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua on Sunday, September 10 opposed the push to audit results of the August 2022 presidential elections amid the ongoing national dialogue aimed at ending a standoff between the Kenya Kwanza administration and the Azimio la Umoja – One Kenya coalition.

Speaking during an interdenominational church service at Laare stadium in Meru County, the country’s second-in-command said the dialogue team lacked the constitutional mandate to audit the results as the matter was settled by the Supreme Court.

Gachagua insisted that the Kenya Kwanza administration led by President William Ruto was validly elected as upheld by the Apex Court on September 5, 2022.

“Your Excellency you know I and millions of your supporters were against talks with these Azimio people but when you decided we talk we don’t argue with you. But we don’t agree with agenda number one which is seeking the audit of the 2022 general election,” Gachagua stated.

“Those people have no capacity. There is no constitutional provision for anybody to audit a general election. The audit was done by the Supreme Court and a decision was made and you were declared validly elected and sworn in as the president of Kenya.”

He told President Ruto that as his deputy he did not agree with the Azimio bid and requested for the removal of the agenda from the list of issues to be discussed by the 10-member National Dialogue Committee.

“That (audit) your Excellency we don’t agree with it and we would like to ask that agenda be dropped from the talks,” Gachagua said as he pleaded with the President, who was in attendance, to take action.

“Your Excellency we can not allow an agenda to discuss audit of the general election. We elected you and you emerged victorious. If anybody has a doubt, it’s not these people. That agenda should be dropped from the talks.”

Gachagua, however, noted that the team was free to discuss other issues including the reconstitution of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).

The Azimio coalition insists that its leader, Raila Odinga, was rigged out in the last presidential election and is seeking an audit of the results of the poll through the national dialogue team.

The team comprises five members from each side.

Recently, the team leaders Kalonzo Musyoka (Azimio) and Kimani Ichung’wah (Kenya Kwanza) announced that they had reached an agreement on the issues to be discussed by the committee.

Besides the audit of the electoral servers and reconstitution of IEBC the team also listed the cost of living and boundaries delimitation as some of the issues to be discussed.

The leaders will also deliberate on entrenchment of the offices of the Leader of the Official Opposition and Prime Cabinet Secretary as well as measures to prevent interference with political parties among others.