Why William Ruto wants six-piece voting in 2022 polls

At least five reasons could be motivating Deputy President William Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance (UDA) to insist on fielding candidates for all the seats that will be up for grabs in the August 2022 General Election.

The six-piece strategy has also been adopted by Amani National Congress (ANC) boss Musalia Mudavadi and Ford-Kenya leader Moses Wetang’ula in their Western backyard.

The DP has refused to partner with fringe parties and is now banking on the six-piece plan to garner votes across the country in his State House bid.

The DP hopes the plan – where the candidates for the presidential, governorship, senatorial, National Assembly, woman rep and ward rep seats are all from one party – will shore up voter turnout as all the contestants will be tasked with mobilising voters.

Also, the many fringe parties fielding candidates, the higher the voter turnout that benefits popular presidential candidate(s).

Many MPs

Again, in the event no presidential candidate garners the constitutional threshold of 50 per cent plus one votes to win in the first round, UDA reckons that having many MPs from one’s party – and not coalitions – would be a key insurance.

With many elected party members, the DP will have an army of campaigners and be in a stronger position to negotiate with other leaders for the runoff vote.

The DP allies also reckon by resisting an alliance before elections, it will insulate their party from unreasonable demands by fringe parties seeking to cut pre-election coalition deals.

Read: Ruto’s strategy to bag presidency, control Parliament

The DP insists he will only engage other parties in post-election deals and that the negotiations, if any, will be based on their performance in an election.

UDA strategists also believe the six-piece route would guarantee stability, as coalition partners often demand concessions every time numbers are being marshalled for a key government agenda.

And given the forces that have ganged up against the DP’s presidential bid, his camp wants to ensure he is not exposed, if elected president, to an impeachment motion.

Bomet Senator Christopher Lang’at said UDA is seeking stability.

“We are looking for unity. Parties in an alliance often become dissatisfied and can easily fail you in your time of need. Alliances are for selfish interests but when it comes to the nitty-gritty, they take advantage of one another and that is why Ruto wants a unitary line-up that he can easily control from the top to the tail,” said Senator Lang’at.

Demand positions

“The best time to form an alliance is when a party fails to hit the 50 per cent plus one threshold. At that time, we agree that I am coming with this number of votes, so what is my share? But if you form a pre-election coalition, your partners will also demand positions in case of a run-off, but from within,” he explained.

“It is better for UDA to go it alone and in case of a runoff, we shall be in a position to tell a party with significant members to come in and take the deputy president’s slot and another to come on board and get ministerial slots.”

Keiyo South MP Daniel Rono said the six-piece strategy would enable UDA to push through its policies in the legislative institutions.

“The six-piece plan will give UDA control over all the Houses – the National Assembly, the Senate and county assemblies – so that we can influence policy directions.”

Dr Ruto has been traversing his Rift Valley backyard as well as President Uhuru Kenyatta’s restive Mt Kenya region, urging voters to reject candidates from friendly parties and elect UDA candidates for all the seats.

Mathira MP Rigathi Gachagua said they are confident that they will form the next government and therefore they do not need any ‘Handshake’ of the sort President Kenyatta had with opposition chief Raila Odinga in 2018.

“We want absolute majority so as to push our agenda in Parliament,” said Mr Gachagua.

“In UDA we need governors who believe in the bottom-up economic model to create synergy in the national government. We need UDA ward reps to support the governors in their legislative agenda so that we can implement the bottom-up agenda,” said the Mathira MP.

Elective seats

Turkana Governor Josphat Nanok, who is also the national coordinator of Hustler Nation’s economic forums, said: “Elections are about winning and taking power as well as winning all the elective seats. Any political party that is not campaigning to win has no business campaigning hard.”

Murang’a Senator Irungu Kang’ata told Nation.Africa that they are vigorously campaigning for a ‘six piece’ outcome in the 2022 General Election to avoid being ousted by their opponents in case they ascend to power.

“A rogue Parliament under the control of the opposition can initiate impeachment proceedings maliciously. Six-piece helps the president get sufficient numbers in Parliament to push his legislative agenda and policy.  Parliament makes laws and vets top government officials and a president needs a Parliament that is supportive of his nominees and legislative proposals,” Senator Kang’ata argued.

This should be cascaded to the counties too, he added.

 “If the Council of Governors is controlled by the opposition, it can frustrate Dr Ruto’s agenda and render the government dysfunctional,” he added.

Elgeyo-Marakwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen said UDA does not want individuals who will end up betraying them.

“This time around, will you vote for people who will not go to Nairobi to betray us? Will you elect people who will remain firm in our party? You will elect people who will stand with the bottom-up economic model and believe in the unity of Kenya,” said Senator Murkomen in Uasin Gishu County.

The party said it will be very careful in selecting leaders they will nominate for various positions.

"We have been abused by the party we so much believed in. We shall not make that mistake with UDA," Mr Murkomen said.

Former Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mwangi Kiunjuri of The Service Party has cautioned that the six-piece campaign is aimed at killing small political parties in Central Kenya.

"Your intention now is to kill other parties, especially in Mt Kenya and Rift Valley, by preaching against them. You don't know what lies ahead. You may just need us and therefore this condemnation of other parties is uncalled-for," he said on Tuesday.

 “We cannot go back to the pit that Jubilee put us into. We merged our parties in the hope that we were transitioning into more mature and open governance. But see where we are and what has happened to the Jubilee Party. We cannot be duped again to fold up our parties," he said.

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1.  Drive up voter turnout. The many fringe parties fielding candidates, the higher the voter turnout that benefits popular presidential candidate(s)
2.  Runoff insurance. With many elected party members, he will have an army of campaigners and be in a stronger position to negotiate with other leaders
3.  Pre-election demands. Shunning fringe party leaders who will make unreasonable demands in pre-election coalition deals, crowding out potential partners, yet their political strength is not tested
4. Governing stability. If he wins and controls parliament, he will have it easy pushing his agenda and avoid blackmail including possible impeachment by rivals
5.  UDA financial muscle. Parties raise fees from aspirants during nominations, subscription fees from elected members and a share of State funds based on performance in elections.