President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto will launch Jubilee Party, the new political vehicle on which they plan to seek re-election, next month.
Members of Jubilee Party's steering committee met yesterday in Nairobi where a resolution was reached to unveil the new party in June after overcoming all the hurdles that delayed the formation of the party.
The committee's co-chairman, Meru Senator Kiraitu Murungi (pictured) said that they are optimistic that the Political Parties (Amendment) Bill, 2016, the proposed law that was meant to shield the President and governors from legal consequences after the merger and whose enactment delayed the process, will have been passed by the Senate and assented to by the time of unveiling the party.
The bill is before the Senate Legal Committee awaiting tabling in the House, after it sailed through the National Assembly. Senators, who are currently on recess, will resume sittings on May 31.
Kiraitu said they had fine-tuned the various manifestos and constitutions of the over ten parties that have agreed to the merger deal, and all they are waiting for is the bill to be passed into law before launching the party.
"The Senate will resume business late this month. The bill will be put on the floor of the House immediately. We want to launch the new political vehicle when a legal framework for merging of parties has been set," said Kiraitu.
The technical team that met at Jubilee Party headquarters completed harmonising and synchronising nomination rules for the various political parties that are willing to join the merger.
"Our opponents should brace themselves for a fierce political battle. The new Jubilee Party will be a powerful political vehicle that will enable President Kenyatta to win the next elections with a landslide," the senator said.
Apart from President Kenyatta's The National Alliance and the William Ruto-led United Republican Party, other parties that have agreed to merge include Alliance Party of Kenya, United Democratic Front and Grand National Union.
Agano Party, New Ford Kenya and Chama Cha Uma have passed resolutions on the their dissolution.
