President Wiliam Ruto and his United Democratic Alliance is eying a deal with the Orange Democratic Movement party as he seeks to bolster his strength ahead of the polls.
Already, Ruto has managed to convince several parties that formed his Keya Kwanza coalition in 2022 to dissolve and join UDA.
This includes Musalia Mudavadi’s Amani National Congress and Amason Kingi’s Pamoja African Alliance, while Moses Wetang’ula’s Ford Kenya and Alfred Mutua’s Mandeleo Chap Chap are under pressure to fold.
On the other hand, the United Opposition team, which is now calling itself the ‘Alternative Government’, has pledged to not only have one joint presidential candidate but also to formalise their alliance in a coalition.
The parties include Kalonzo Musyoka’s Wiper Patriotic Front, Rigathi Gachagua’s DCP, Martha Karua’s PLP, Eugene Wamalwa’s DCP, Justin Muturi’s DP, Peter Munya’s PNU and the Fred Matiang’i-led Jubilee.
Even as the parties seek to rebuild and strengthen themselves ahead of the next polls, officials are sharply divided on the issue of zoning.
Parties are keen to maintain numerical strength in both Houses of Parliament and the 47 county assemblies as this not only gives them strength to negotiate with the coalition but also sufficient resources from the political parties’ kitty.
Those pushing for zones favour a system where a party perceived to be strong in a certain region is allowed to field candidates so as to prevent ‘friendly fire’ and preserve their strongholds.
However, those who reject the proposal term it as ‘undemocratic and meant to stifle freedom’ to choose. Zoning has been described as a key factor in the UDA-ODM coalition, aiming to manage ‘battle zones’ or ‘strongholds’.
“As much as we welcome the views of our brothers in ODM and other like-minded parties, personally I am against this idea of zoning for a number of reasons,” Molo MP Kimani Kuria says.
“Zoning is the root cause of tribalism and lack of democracy in some regions in this country.”
UDA secretary general Hassan Omar shares a similar opinion.
“There is no zoning, and everyone will have to fight for themselves to win the seats,” he says.
“Let those with three votes bring them; those with 300 votes, let them bring them. You do not need to panic. Why should you be scared if this is your forte?”
However, some within ODM have rejected this on grounds that their ‘traditional’ bases will be threatened and a split of votes may benefit their rivals.
“We must ensure that our bases and strongholds are ring-fenced and left for the ODM party, and zoning is going to occur. Without that, we will have no arrangement,” Homa Bay Town MP Peter Kaluma argues.
The issue of zoning is among the contentious topics being tackled by the ODM-UDA talks.
The Orange outfit believes that guaranteeing control of its traditional bases strengthens its position, ensuring it maintains a significant stake in any future administration or coalition arrangement with UDA.
“We want to increase our numbers in the next General Election from what we have today," Minority Leader Junet says.
“We want to tell any party that we are associating with that our parliamentary numbers are not negotiable. We can negotiate on anything but not our parliamentary strength.”
ODM will be holding its National Delegates Convention on the 27th of this month. The agenda includes approving the resolution by the National Executive Committee to hold negotiations with UDA for a pre-election pact.
“We have given our party leader the mandate to come up with the plan, and all those issues of zoning you are raising will be part and parcel of the deliberations," Junet said.
In the opposition, Jubilee and DCP appear to be flexing their muscles on which party should be allowed to field candidates in Mt Kenya region.
Jubilee vice chairman Jeremiah Kioni has ruled out zoning, saying the intention is not to fracture the coalition but to ensure fairness and inclusion for all member parties.
He argues that wherever the parties share a common agenda on matters presidential, all other seats should be open for competition.
“We are happy with how Gachagua is dealing with Ruto, but the fact that we are in a coalition does not mean we should not sell our candidates to the people,” Kioni said.
“We, as Jubilee, know Mt Kenya is our stronghold, and we will do everything possible within our power to paint the region red.”
Gachagua on the other hand has urged the Mt Kenya region to unite under DCP, positioning it as the primary party for the region. He has been keen to convey the message during joint rallies in the area.
The opposition parties appear to favour non-zoning except in cosmopolitan areas.
“We have only spared the five cities in Kenya where we have cosmopolitan effect and where we can jointly field candidates. That’s Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, Eldoret and Nakuru counties,” DCP party leader Cleophas Malala said.
Comments 0
Sign in to join the conversation
Sign In Create AccountNo comments yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!