Jubile Party can only hold polls after two years from now, officials insist

Kirinyanga Governor Anne Waiguru called for elections in the ruling party. [Photo, Standard]

Members of the ruling Jubilee Party (JP) calling for party elections have been asked to wait for two more years.

The JP advisory council yesterday insisted that transitional clauses of the party constitution allows the current secretariat to run the party affairs up to t 2020.

“Those who want party elections should read our constitutional and understand it. It clearly provided that the secretariat led by Secretary-General Raphael Tuju is in office until 2020,” advisory council member Albert Nyaundi said.

Last week, Kirinyaga Governor Anne Waiguru called for elections in the ruling party following JP vice chairman David Murathe’s statement that Deputy President William Ruto is not an automatic presidential candidate for the party in the 2022 polls.

And yesterday, Nyaundi and three other members – Osman Hassan, Said Ali and Benjamin Muema – convened a press conference where they warned that 2022 campaigns were premature. The advisory council, consists of officials of 12 parties that merged to form JP in 2017, before the General Election.

“We are asking leaders to desist from any premature campaigns and support the President in achieving the Big Four agenda. We are also aware that it’s a long-term project which requires time to complete and therefore urge the President to lay necessary firm foundation and hasten its implementation,” said Osman, a former nominated MP.

Addressing a press conference at Serena Hotel yesterday, the four officials threw their weight behind the ‘handshake’, saying it had created a conducive environment for economic growth and peaceful co-existence.

The four also rallied Kenyans to support the ongoing war on corruption while urging institutions tasked with the war against the vice not to be deterred by forces seeking to derail the fight.

Asked whether their presser was to tell off Ruto allies, the officials said the President recently said on national television that he was not bothered by the 2022 talk. This, they said, was also their position.