No party zoning in United Opposition strongholds, Gachagua declares

DCP leader Rigathi Gachagua has ruled out zoning within the United Opposition, except in Nairobi and Mombasa.

Speaking to Maa region media outlets, Gachagua said his DCP party would field candidates in all available elective seats across the country, apart from the two cities where Wiper has considerable support.

The former Deputy President said parties within the United Opposition are independent and should be free to field candidates wherever they feel strong.

“There should be no problem. Let’s fight it out. Every party is independent. The only thing we will negotiate as the United Opposition is the joint presidential candidate and maybe Nairobi and Mombasa,” Gachagua said.

He said voters should be allowed to decide the leaders they want.

Citing the recent by-election in Narok Township, where DCP won, Gachagua noted that although both his party and Jubilee fielded candidates, voters still chose their preferred candidate.

“The Jubilee candidate got 74 votes and DCP 6,000 votes. What’s the problem? Let’s fight it out. I am not afraid to compete with Jubilee, Wiper or anyone else,” he said.

The DCP leader argued that each opposition principal should be allowed to campaign for and build their party.

“That’s why I am asking the people of Narok to give me strong and fearless leaders on DCP, a strong governor and MPs so that we can fix the problems facing the Maasai. This is because this work will require a president like me, a governor and MPs so that we can work together,” he said.

He added that to succeed as a party leader, he would ask residents to elect MPs from his party so they can work together to solve challenges facing the people of Maasailand, especially the land problem.

The remarks are likely to trigger contestation within the United Opposition, as zoning was among the strategies used in the November by-elections.

At the time, Gachagua backed the strategy and withdrew his candidate from Mbeere North in favour of DP. DCP also supported the Wiper candidate in Muguuni Ward in Machakos and the DAP-K candidate in Kapchai/Chwele Ward in Bungoma.

Other zoning arrangements took place in Magarini, where Kalonzo Musyoka’s Wiper agreed to cede ground to Gachagua’s DCP candidate.

While Gachagua indicated then that the approach would only apply to the by-elections, he acknowledged the decision was informed by the need to build cordial relations with like-minded opposition partners.

When DP lost — and by extension the United Opposition — Gachagua said DCP did not lose as it did not field a candidate there.

However, on Tuesday, the former Deputy President signalled possible tensions with his latest declaration.

“I have heard some people complaining that whenever I attend meetings I say elect a DCP governor, senator, MP and MCA. Even you, when you get the microphone, campaign for your people and let the people decide.

“You can’t tell me not to sell my party because you are present. Each party has its manifesto and popularity,” he said.

His earlier claim that Wiper had agreed to cede all major elective seats in Nairobi to DCP, presumably in exchange for his backing of Kalonzo, was later denied by Wiper.

At the same time, Gachagua said DCP would conduct free and fair primaries as a way of strengthening the party.

He noted that direct nominations would only be issued where communities agree on a single candidate, particularly among pastoralist groups.

Gachagua has publicly declared that he is building an ODM-like party that “has negotiated for power even without winning [presidential] elections”.