Let delegates choose, Raila gives Kalonzo final offer

ODM leader Raila Odinga has made a final offer to Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka, inviting him to a competitive nomination process next week in Nairobi to pick the Azimio la Umoja presidential flagbearer.

Yesterday, the Nation established that Mr Odinga had agreed to delegates drawn from all the political parties supporting the Azimio coalition to elect the alliance’s flagbearer during its National Delegates Conference (NDC) on March 12.

Mr Musyoka and his One Kenya Alliance (OKA), as well as any other interested leader from among the affiliate parties, have been invited to submit to the nomination by delegates representing the affiliate parties, with each tentatively allocated 20.

Mr Odinga’s presidential campaign spokesperson Prof Makau Mutua and the chairman of the ODM leader’s presidential campaign board Mr Ndiritu Muriithi confirmed the planned Azimio NDC.

“We have an outline of what the processes will look like but it’s still a work in progress. At this moment, what we can say is that the parties that are in Azimio will meet at a delegates’ conference where each party will bring 20 members for the purposes of selecting the Azimio candidate,” Prof Mutua said yesterday.

He noted that there were, however, ongoing discussions on whether the major parties within Azimio, including President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Jubilee, ODM and probably Wiper (should Mr Musyoka agree to participate) would get additional delegates proportionate to their numerical strength.

“For OKA, the door is open but not to them as OKA but as individual parties because there is no OKA at the moment but an informal group of political parties,” said Prof Mutua.

OKA consists of Wiper, Gideon Moi’s Kanu, Narc Kenya of Martha Karua and the Cyrus Jirongo-led United Democratic Party.

Mr Muriithi, who is also the Laikipia governor, said Kasarani is the tentative venue for the March 12 convention.

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Mr Odinga had on Wednesday announced during his campaigns in Nakuru County that the convention will culminate in a rally at Jacaranda grounds in Nairobi where the Azimio flagbearer would be presented to supporters.

“We expect all the parties that will have joined Azimio by that time to attend (the NDC). So if OKA parties will be Azimio members by then, they will participate in this process,” Mr Muriithi said.

Already, a dozen political parties, now under the banner of Azimio Affiliate Parties (AFP) have agreed to take part in the planned NDC.

But the ceremony is likely to be a coronation for Mr Odinga owing to the fact that all these parties resolved to back his bid during their separate NDCs.

AFP co-chairs – Democratic Action Party-Kenya (DAP-K) leader Wafula Wamunyinyi and Narc’s Charity Ngilu – said they welcomed OKA to the Azimio train but challenged the team to “conclude their negotiations soon to enable Azimio ship to set sail towards formation of the next government without too many conditions or a protracted process”.

Parties that form AFP including Party of National Unity (PNU) linked to Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya, UPIA Movement associated with his Treasury counterpart Ukur Yatani and United Progressive Alliance and DAP-K associated with Interior CS Fred Matiang’i and his Defense counterpart Eugene Wamalwa, respectively.

Others are MNarc, Maendeleo Chap Chap of Machakos Governor Alfred Mutua, Ubuntu Peoples’ Forum led by Nakuru Governor Lee Kinyanjui, West Pokot Governor John Lonyangapuo’s Kenya Union Party, Kilifi Governor Amason Kingi’s Pamoja African Alliance and Makueni Governor Kivutha Kibwana’s Muungano Party of Kenya.

The plans by Mr Odinga’s team seem to have already divided the OKA brigade, whose member parties yesterday differed on whether they would attend the NDC or not.

Wiper vice chairman Mutula Kilonzo Jnr said participating in the nomination process of the Azimio flagbearer will hinder ongoing negotiations.

“We cannot participate in such an arrangement because if we participate how do we then negotiate? If you sit in a meeting where a presidential candidate is picked, OKA cannot be heard to say that we have negotiated. The picking of that candidate with the acquiescence of OKA would determine the question of the presidential candidate both in OKA and Azimio,” Mr Kilonzo said.

Honours secret pact

Kitui Senator Enoch Wambua added: “Reference to Azimio delegates conference means that this is an Azimio affair. Wiper is not a member of Azimio and it should therefore naturally follow that we can’t send delegates to a conference where we are not members.” 

Mr Kilonzo insisted that their position is for Azimio to pick its candidate while OKA also selects its candidate. They can then agree on who to fly the grand coalition’s flag in the August 9 presidential polls.

Mr Musyoka has demanded that Mr Odinga honours their secret pact in the lead up to the 2017 elections in which the ODM leader committed to back his Wiper counterpart in this year’s presidential election.

Differing with their OKA partner, Kanu Secretary-General Nick Salat said the party will participate in the planned Azimio conference “by all means”.

“We are absolutely going to take part in every exercise there. We don’t have time for monkey games now. We have to be very serious and committed,” Mr Salat told the Nation.

He went on: “It’s about time that discussions are taken to the level that it deserves to be, and we don’t just want to appear like some people want to do and change mind, it’s about time we take decisive action and belong to where the rest of Kenyans are and that is Azimio.”

But Mr Kilonzo insisted that they have made an agreement as a team “that if we are going to enter into structured dialogue with Azimio, Azimio will first of all have to become an entity so that then we know who in Azimio we are dealing with.”

“At this point in time we don’t know whether Azimio will be a coalition party or a coalition of parties,” added Mr Kilonzo.

He noted that at the moment, it was difficult to expedite talks “because we don’t know what framework they want to use.”

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“If they decide it’s a coalition party or a coalition of parties, it will become easier for OKA to then engage. 

“The new law contemplates a coalition party which will have to be registered,” the senator explained.

He went on: “So if you register a coalition party then you must deposit a coalition agreement so then you become structured because if you deposit a coalition agreement obviously you will say who your officials are and so on and so forth.”

Prof Mutua noted that Azimio was engaging OKA as individual parties for the purposes of producing their delegates to participate in the exercise and even front a candidate of their choice for the nomination process.

“The purpose of the conference is for people to put forward their interests and obviously we know where this is going to end. But people are free to express their interests for purposes of elective process to choose a flagbearer in a transparent manner,” he added.

He however clarified that even in the event there is a contest, the first runners up in the nominations would not be the automatic running mate to the winner.

This will be unlike the scenario in 2007 when the ODM Pentagon members, including Mr Odinga, Mr Musalia Mudavadi, Mr William Ruto, Mr Najib Balala and Mr Joseph Nyaga, competed in the nominations.

Mr Balala withdrew at the last minute paving the way for Mr Odinga’s victory while Mr Mudavadi, who became the first runners up, was named the ODM leader’s running mate and the vice-president designate if they won the election.

Yesterday, Prof Mutua said the Azimio nomination process on March 12 would purely be for the selection of the flagbearer, who will later choose a running mate of his choice.

“This is not a nomination exercise for the ticket, it’s an event to determine who the flagbearer is going to be and then the flagbearer will obviously choose the running mate,” he explained.

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