By David Ohito

He warned: “You haven’t seen the best of ODM yet. It is a battle of wits and it will not be business as usual. We will soldier on with mass action until we triumph over our stolen vote.” Speaking at a Press conference at Orange House, Nairobion Wednesday, Raila said the 99 ODM MPs, their three Narc colleagues and other like-minded members vindicated the people’s will, who only 19 days ago saw the Presidency snatched from their grasp through rigging.

“Money was raining in Parliament lobby rooms and lavatories, but our MPs resisted,” said Raila.

He added: “The election of Mr Kenneth Marende and Mr Maalim Farah as Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly is a momentous victory.”

He accused the Government of trying to intimidate MPs, saying: “Parliament looked like a military camp littered with military police, but this did not deter our MPs from voting with their conscience. Don’t mistake a cat that has been rained on for a lion. They saw it in Parliament that we are a better team.”

Raila also took issue with President Kibaki, saying he had snubbed him on the floor of the House.

“He came close to my side while he was being sworn in, but he didn’t have the courage to greet me,” he said.

Asked why he and his MPs did not sit on the Government side, he said: “They were scared and turned up too early.”

Raila called for a quick resolution to the political crisis over the disputed presidential election that “threatens to divide the country into two”.

“The Government seems unaware of these major blows and developments that have left our nation without a shred of national and international legitimacy. It continues to deploy a massive level of security forces to prevent Kenyans from holding peaceful rallies,” he said.

Raila clarified that there was no dispute over ODM’s six nominations slots.

Pentagon members, Mr Musalia Mudavadi, Mr William Ruto, Mr Najib Balala and Ms Charity Ngilu, and 70 MPs attended the news conference.

Lifted and published by Korir, API/APN africanpress@getmail.no source.standard.ke