Kenyatta surrenders before election challenge
September 14 2007 at 01:21AM
Nairobi - Kenyan opposition leader Uhuru Kenyatta on Thursday pulled out of the presidential race ahead of December general elections, saying he stood no chance of winning.
The opposition leader is the son of the country's revered founding president Jomo Kenyatta.
He said his Kenya African National Union (KANU) party would hold talks with President Mwai Kibaki's party and one of the two main opposition parties to launch a coalition.
"We run when we are sure we can win and if we can't win, then we are supposed to put our interests aside and take charge and cognizance of the interest of our party," he told reporters.
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"My wish is not to remain as leader of the opposition, my wish is to ensure that I lead my party to part of the next government," he said after a KANU meeting in the capital.
"We are not saying that we are going to support this government carte blanche. We have issues which must be dealt with and those issues must be looked it. That is why we have a negotiations team," he added.
Kibaki later held talks with a KANU delegation led by Kenyatta, local media reported.
Two other opposition parties have already chosen their presidential candidates for the year-end polls when Kibaki will seek re-election for a second and final term of office. - Sapa-AFP
