Rival parties prepare to reap from fallout if Jubilee groups merge

As the process for the formation of the Jubilee Party enters the homestretch, political parties in the Rift Valley are angling themselves to benefit from the anticipated fall out.

The parties, which include Kanu, New Vision Party (NVP) and Chama Cha Mashinani (CCM), are wooing political hopefuls to their side ahead of the 2017 General Election.

The political parties say the Jubilee nomination process, which is expected to be rigorous, will unfairly lock many out of the race.

Some political office hopefuls are choosing to stick to their parties fearing that the Jubilee nominations will not be free, fair and transparent.

Among those opposing the merger is Bomet Governor Isaac Ruto, who says the new party is being forced on Rift Valley residents.

Ruto told The Standard on Sunday he has come up with strategies to ensure his CCM Party reaps from the potential fallout precipitated by the Jubilee merger.

The governor said he was looking forward to the official dissolution of URP before he decamps to CCM which is to be launched in September.

“We have already opened 37 offices countrywide and are raring to go once URP is officially dissolved. Our impact will be felt far and wide,” he said.

Recently, President Uhuru Kenyatta signed into law the Political Parties Amendment Bill 2016, legally giving political parties an okay to merge.

This has led to a flurry of realignments as politicians declare the vehicle they will use in the 2017 polls.

Already, the New Ford Kenya has folded up, albeit with resistance from some party supporters, to join the Jubilee Party.

The party’s leadership, led by chairperson Kenneth Lusaka, demanded the Secretary General position in the new party, saying they are the third largest after Kenyatta and Ruto’s outfits.

But Meru Senator Kiraitu Murungi, who is also the Jubilee Party steering committee co-chairperson, said parties must be content with the positions they get.

It is such jostling for positions in the new outfit that the Bomet Governor says will be the genesis of a fallout before the next General Election.

“Jubilee affiliate parties will be in shock when they realise that what was promised for them before the merger is not what they will eventually receive,” he said.

Welcoming the new law, Kanu Secretary General Nick Salat said the independence party will not join Jubilee.

“The crafters of the law thought it will be to their advantage but interestingly, we are all looking forward to benefiting from it,” he said.