Azimio seeks to unite Opposition as President entices village elders

Azimio la Umoja party Leaders led by Kalonzo Musyoka with joint Azimio Council and NEC members after admitting more party members to the outfit. [Denish Ochieng, Standard]

For many politicians, the road to election victory is paved with promises, deep pockets, alliances and allegiance.

Barely 12 months to the General Election, leaders are already in overdrive in their pursuit of power.

On the day President William Ruto met village elders at State House in Nairobi, promising then stipend, phones and medical cover, leaders in the opposition were yesterday exploring ways to craft a grand coalition.

President Ruto used the event to entice 106,000 elders from countrywide with gifts and pledges, thanking them for mobilisation skills and roles in the villages. Chiefs and their assistants were also part of the package, with each promised an annual amount of Sh50,000 and Sh30,000 respectively.

And the Opposition parties were intensifying efforts to unite behind a single presidential candidate, with Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka meeting former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and DAP-K leader Eugene Wamalwa.

Kalonzo described the meeting as part of ongoing unity efforts. He said the three leaders deliberated on key national issues and agreed on the need for sustained collaboration among opposition forces to provide a credible alternative leadership.

“The engagement we had today with my brothers Rigathi and Eugene marks another step in the ongoing efforts to consolidate opposition unity and build a cohesive agenda for the future of Kenya,” he said.

Newlook Azimio

The consultations came a day after the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition Council, which is reorganising its structures and rebranding the coalition to strengthen its support across the country ahead of the elections, resolved to broaden its membership.

The coalition is courting Gachagua and the Linda Mwananchi movement to join its ranks, alongside other parties in what it hopes will culminate in the formation of a super coalition.

The meeting came on the day Linda Mwananchi got a reprieve from the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties. Spokesperson Caroli Omondi said the group had engaged after the office declined to register it as a party. He said the Registrar John Cox Lorionokou had promised to review the decision and provide feedback by the end of the week.

Azimio, which had the late ODM leader Raila Odinga as its presidential candidate in the 2022 elections, is hoping to strengthen after the post-polls realignments. Edwin Sifuna’s Linda Mwananchi faction of the ODM has parted ways with the group led by Dr Oburu Odinga, which is pushing for President Ruto’s re-election.

“The Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition Council will be engaging with DCP leader Rigathi Gachagua, Linda Mwananchi leader Edwin Sifuna, PLP leader Martha Karua and UGM leader David Maraga for us to form a super coalition,” said Kalonzo.

The council further invited Wamalwa’s DAP-K.

The meeting also agreed to establish a framework for identifying a single presidential candidate. It received a preliminary report from a technical committee chaired by former Cabinet minister Kipruto arap Kirwa on the preferred model for selecting the flagbearer.

Political analyst Dismas Mokua says the latest developments indicate that the Opposition is moving from public declarations of unity to deliberate coalition-building.

“Following the Azimio meeting, Kalonzo appears to have been given the political mandate to reach out to everyone interested in making President William Ruto a one-term President. That assignment is significant because it places him at the centre of opposition consultations,” he argues.

The outreach, he says, gives Kalonzo an opportunity to demonstrate his ability to unite diverse political interests while positioning himself as one of the leading figures within the Opposition.

“By engaging leaders across the political divide, Kalonzo is seeking to show he has the capacity to build a united opposition. We should expect him to meet more political leaders as well as business and corporate figures as efforts to consolidate support gather momentum,” he says.

But Gitile Naituli, a professor of management and leadership, feels the consultations should not be interpreted as the process of identifying the opposition’s flagbearer but rather as laying the foundation for that eventual decision.

“I don’t think these meetings are about choosing one presidential candidate yet. What we are seeing is positioning for that process,” he says.

Flagbearer formula

He argues that the Opposition is first seeking to identify a political vehicle that all principals can rally behind before deciding who should fly its presidential flag.

“There has to be a scientific formula to establish who is more popular. That can be done through a credible national survey so that the outcome is truly representative.”

Prof Naituli notes that the Opposition’s objective appears to be identifying a candidate with nationwide appeal rather than one anchored on traditional regional voting blocs.

“These meetings are helping the leaders build relationships and trust. That bonding will make future negotiations and the eventual selection process much easier,” he says.

While the Opposition is yet to unveil the formula that will determine its presidential flagbearer, the latest consultations suggest leaders are increasingly focused on avoiding a fragmented challenge.