Raila campaign goes digital

By Vitalis Kimutai

Prime Minister Raila Odinga has launched a presidential campaign website and engaged social media directly connecting with voters on issues affecting the country.

The PM launched his presidential campaign website –Raila for President 2012 (www.raila-odinga.com ) - complete with twitter, facebook, YouTube and blog platforms.

The site also contains the PM’s life history, his agenda for the country, a photo gallery, press releases and people will be able to e-mail him and het feedback.

As a break from similar sites launched by his rivals, Raila’s has a Kiswahili version to enable ordinary people understand his ideals and engage with him.

Cabinet ministers, MPs, business people, professionals and ordinary Kenyans attended the launch at a Nairobi hotel on Wednesday night.

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It has already attracted 14,742 people who have liked the site which will be streaming live the activities of the PM until the next general election.

Raila on Thursday said the website was designed to encourage and facilitate an expanded dialogue with voters and other stakeholders in the society.

“You will tweet and I will tweet back. We need to define the direction our country is taking,” he stated.

 “Mine will be a ‘listening’ presidency. I want to hear your views, so that I know what you want, so that I can try to fulfill your needs, as you have expressed them,” Raila said.

He said he was ready to work with everybody in seeking to transform the country for the better.

“At the same time, I can make you privy to my thinking on the urgent issues that affect us all. We need to reason together to define the country we want and the leadership that will take us to the land of our dreams,” Raila stated.

He said ODM would be the party to beat in the next general election as majority of Kenyans believed in the ideals it was pushing for.

“I feel proud to be associated with this movement. We can move together to make Kenya a great country,”
Budalangi MP Ababu Namwamba said the PM will now be able to understand and embody aspirations of all Kenyans irrespective of their class in society.

"It has brought down physical space and barriers for people to directly engage and dialogue with Raila," Namwamba said.