Alliances confirm mechanisms ready for separate primaries

Presidential aspirant, Peter Kenneth during a meeting of party aspirants in Nairobi on Monday. [Photo: Govedi Asutsa/Standard]

 

By Standard Team

KENYA: Three main political alliances — Jubilee, CORD and Amani — now say they have set in place all the necessary mechanisms in preparation for their separate nomination exercises all packed into one day — Thursday.

The Coalition for Reforms and Democracy had by on Monday recruited 290 returning officers to take charge of the nomination and relay results to the party headquarters on Thursday and Friday.

The National Alliance (TNA) also recruited returning officers to take charge of areas where the party would field candidates while the United Republican Party will also be conducting nominations in its zones.

On Monday, TNA officials said they will be using churches instead of schools and the venues had already been hired in readiness for the exercise on Thursday.

“We do not want our supporters to clash with those of our opponents at nomination venues and neither do we want to interfere with learning in schools,” explained TNA Organising Secretary Onyango Oloo.

Flag-bearer

TNA alongside United Republican Party belong to Jubilee Alliance and are led by Mr Uhuru Kenyatta who is the flag-bearer, Mr William Ruto who is his running mate, respectively.

The government has not made a decision over requests made by the parties that they use primary schools for the exercise.

Education Secretary Enos Oyaya said the ministry was still waiting for communication from either the Minister for Education, Mr Mutula Kilonzo, or the Office of the President. “It is only the minister or the Office of the President which can make a decision on such matters,” he told The Standard on telephone.

Efforts to get the Minister failed because he was said to be in his home in Makueni County campaigning for a Senate seat.

In Nairobi, the Orange Democratic Movement said the party was busy vetting over 6,000 applicants seeking seats for MP, Women representative, County representative, Governor and Senate seats.

In a bid to ensure there were no interruptions during the primaries, Amani Coalition, whose flag-bearer is Mr Musalia Mudavadi, announced it would be meeting today in Nairobi.

Mr Hassan Osman, chairman of Mudavadi’s United Democratic Front announced UDF, Kanu and New Ford Kenya officials would meet to discuss modalities for the primaries. “We want to ensure there is no interference between our members and those of the other coalition parties during the exercise,” he explained.

Hassan disclosed that they would explore ways to avert a possible clash by various supporters during the nominations.

The Amani coalition said they had mobilised over 3,000 agents across the country, who would conduct the nominations on Thursday.

Already ODM Elections Board chairman Franklin Bett has announced that the party would publish all polling stations either today or tomorrow. The same applies to TNA.

ODM aspirants in Kakamega County met with returning officers on Monday to chart out the modalities of conducting the party’s nomination exercise.

“According to party rules, the nomination process will be done at sub-location level but we are still working on modalities for the venues. We are considering using schools but in the event that we won’t be allowed to use them, we will have to make do with sub-chief offices or churches,” said Martin Andati ODM County Secretary General.

In Taita Taveta some ODM political aspirants have faulted the party’s National Elections Board for picking polling stations without involving them.

The aspirants, who include outgoing Wundanyi MP Thomas Mwadeghu and an aspirant for the position of Governor John Mtuta Mruttu, said on Monday the board should have consulted ODM branches before picking the polling stations.

In places like Murang’a, the nomination exercise had already been conducted in some areas while some aspirants cried foul, saying they had been cheated.

The Murang’a County nomination board chairman Mr Stephen Mwaura said the list of aspirants from TNA office had only two aspirants for Kigumo.