UDA announces mass registration exercise targeting Raila’s strongholds
Outgoing UDA secretary-general Veronica Maina (left) and outgoing chairperson Johnson Muthama (right) handover to the new secretary-general Cleophas Malala and chairperson Cecily Mbarire at the Party's offices in Nairobi on Thursday, March 2, 2023.
President William Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party has announced a mass membership recruitment exercise targeting Azimio la Umoja One Kenya coalition leader Raila Odinga's strongholds in preparation for his reelection in 2027.
According to UDA secretary general Cleopas Malala, the membership recruitment exercise will begin in Western Kenya this coming weekend before spreading to other parts of the country.
“We have rolled out a mass registration of members countrywide. On Saturday, I will be in Kisumu to meet 5,000 members from Kisumu County. I will open an office there and Kisumu is going to be painted yellow because our party believes in diversity,” Mr Malala said.
The announcement comes merely days after Mr Malala officially took over as the new party SG from nominated senator Veronica Maina.
Mr Malala also reiterated that all the parties within the Kenya Kwanza coalition need to fold into one party before the upcoming General Election.
“UDA is a party that believes in diversity and embracing everyone in this country. We plan to open vibrant party offices in every county. I shall also initiate a consultative forum with our coalition partners so we merge into one UDA party to form one big party. Our goal is to build a big party like South Africa’s Africa National Congress (ANC),” he added.
Also Read: Prepare to fold, Malala tells UDA partners
New party chairperson Cecily Mbarire said she will focus on creating a party that unites
“We will work extremely hard. We will ensure UDA party is not a seasonal party like the previous ruling parties. I thank the President for believing in a diverse team to lead the party to prosperity,” she added.
The latest move by President Ruto follows a similar script that former President Uhuru Kenyatta used to win a second term in office during the 2017 general elections.
In the 2013 general election, 11 political parties including Mr Kenyatta’s The National Alliance (TNA) joined hands with other parties such as Dr Ruto’s United Republican Party (URP), Alliance Party of Kenya, United Democratic Forum (UDF), New Ford Kenya, Party of National Unity (PNU) and Ford People among others.
During the 2017 general election, all the parties folded to create the Jubilee Party juggernaut that propelled Mr Kenyatta to victory.
By creating one party, Dr Ruto will be solving sibling rivalry as he seeks to vie for his second term.
Mr Malala while making the announcement that all parties should fold into one party, did not indicate the timeline but it is expected to happen before 2027.
During the handover ceremony at the party headquarters, the new party officials were handed over party instruments including the party constitution and the flag.
