Jubilee, NASA assemble tough campaign teams

President Uhuru Kenyatta and NASA flag bearer Raila Odinga.

Political parties are now in a race against time to craft winning formulas and campaign strategies ahead of the official start of election campaigns on May 28.

The parties are assembling teams that will ensure they win the August polls.

Already, the National Super Alliance (NASA) has created an expansive team comprising technocrats and seasoned politicians to run presidential campaigns across the 47 counties.

Jubilee Party on the other hand is said to have crafted a two-tier co-ordinating presidential campaign team in a bid to have President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto re-elected.

Official letters

Sources who spoke to The Standard on condition of anonymity stated that NASA presidential campaign co-ordinators had already been identified and official letters sent to them to begin working immediately.

The co-ordinators will be responsible for convening meetings of all aspirants under the umbrella of NASA, planning rallies, identifying the campaign agenda of particular regions, and planning logistics and rallies.

“The principals are doing what they know best as politicians but behind them are expansive teams whose sole mandate is to craft a winning formula and the best campaign strategy that has ever been witnessed in this country,” said the source at the campaign secretariat.

NASA Chief Executive Norman Magaya said the key objective was to marshal enough numbers to ensure that they win in round one.

“We have done our maths and we know the numbers we are targeting. We have put in place elaborate mechanisms to achieve our target,” said Mr Magaya.

Chris Mandu and Bromwel Wafula, political strategists of Ford Kenya leader Moses Wetang’ula, are said to be some of the brains that will add impetus to Raila’s presidency quest.

Amani National Congress (ANC) leader Musalia Mudavadi is said to have proposed Mutakha Kangu among other university dons to work behind the scenes.

Kipruto arap Kirwa, who represents ANC on NASA’s national co-ordinating committee, said: “We have agreed that in our campaigns, we are going to focus on issues that affect Kenyans and avoid name-calling as perpetuated by President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Deputy William Ruto.”

The former Cabinet minister said NASA had identified himself, Governor Isaac Ruto and others in the expansive vote-rich Rift Valley to make sure that they got many votes from the region.

Round one

The expanded NASA team has been charged with the task of drafting a winning formula and ensuring that NASA beats Jubilee and other presidential candidates in round one.

Aware that the Opposition is now expanded and re-energised, Jubilee has zoned the country into stronghold areas - its own and the Opposition's - and what they think are swing counties in its re-election strategy.

The ruling coalition has classified 17 counties in Central and Rift Valley regions as well as Upper Eastern as its strongholds in its campaign strategy.

The party will pump resources into mobilising high voter turnout during the elections.

Jubilee plans to put as much vigour into the rallies as that witnessed during Uhuru's and his deputy William Ruto’s whirlwind tours of the country when they mobilised Kenyans to register as voters.