UDA recalls membership registers as it prepares for party primaries

The United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party has recalled membership registers from the grassroots for review ahead of the party primaries slated for April 9 to16.

UDA Secretary-General Veronica Maina and National Election Board (NEB) chairman Anthony Mwaura said the list will be submitted to the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties (ORPP) for validation.

Deputy President William Ruto is widely expected to run for the presidency on a UDA ticket. All the other elective positions – from gubernatorial to civic – are open to members in the nominations.

County, constituency and ward administrators have been asked to ensure the documents are delivered to Hustler House in Nairobi by today (Tuesday).

Actual membership

On March 15, the party is expected to release an update on the actual membership.

UDA and Jubilee Party have been squabbling over membership, with the latter claiming its register was hacked. Jubilee Deputy Secretary-General Joshua Kutuny recently claimed that UDA tampered with the ruling party’s register and fraudulently transferred members.

The Cheranganyi MP alleged that over 5,000,000 members were affected.

“UDA did not build its membership from scratch, it simply lifted Jubilee registers in a scheme spearheaded by party officials who have since been removed from their positions,” he said.

Ms Maina, however, said UDA membership rose sharply due to e-registration, which was not as cumbersome as the manual process.

“The recruitment drive has been ongoing, both manually and electronically. There has been an overwhelming response from the public in the past few weeks,” she told the Nation in Bomet.

No favoured candidates

The party has also dismissed claims there are favoured candidates in the primaries. National Election Board members Aurelia Rono, Raphael Chimera, Salome Beacco, Matiko Chacha, Ummi Bashir, Halake Dida and Mr Mwaura have sought to calm growing tensions over claims of favouritism.

In a tour of Kericho, Narok, Bomet and Nandi counties a week ago, members urged the party’s NEB officials to ensure fairness prevails.

“We’ve put in place proper measures for free and fair nominations to ensure the most popular aspirants are picked to fly the UDA flag,” said Ms Maina.

Mr Mwaura added: “Members will have the final word on the ballot. We are calling on all of them to ensure they fully take charge of the process.”

There have been concerns across the country that senior politicians and former top government officials who recently joined the party would be favoured due to their closeness to the DP.

Shifted allegiance

For fear of being rigged out, a number of politicians have shifted allegiance to rival parties and others choosing to run as independent candidates.

Kirinyaga Woman Rep Purity Ngirici quit UDA in a huff after Governor Ann Waiguru joined the party.

Ms Ngirici claimed she had been prevailed upon to drop her gubernatorial bid in favour of Ms Waiguru, a move she said was a clear indication the party favours certain candidates.

In Kericho, former UDA member Elijah Kirui Maru, will now be running as an independent candidate.

“I chose to be an independent candidate as there are clear indications that UDA primaries will be shambolic,” he said.

DP’s allies

The DP’s allies who have come under focus as regards nominations include former Devolution Cabinet Secretary Charles Keter – who is in the Kericho gubernatorial race – and Mr Joseph Boinet, the former Chief Administrative Secretary for Tourism, who is looking to succeed Mr Alex Tolgos in Elgeyo-Marakwet.

Former Mining and Petroleum CAS John Mosonik will challenge Governor Hillary Barchok in Bomet County, while his Sports counterpart Simon Kachapin is set to challenge Mr John Longanyapuo in West Pokot.

Former Labour CAS Patrick Ntutu is seeking to succeed Governor Samwel Tunai in Narok County, while ex-Wildlife PS Fred Segor will run against Baringo Governor Stanley Kiptis.

“All we are asking for is a free and fair nomination process in the UDA primaries in Kericho. In the spirit of democracy and to avert a fall-out, high standards of integrity should be maintained in the nomination,” said Dr Erick Mutai, one of the hopefuls in the Kericho gubernatorial race.