Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition presidential candidate Raila Odinga Monday, May 2 changed his mind about zoning. Raila said zoning will apply in key races to prevent handing victory to Deputy President William Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza Alliance.
The ODM Leader said zones will be established to pinpoint candidates with greater influence. He defended his action saying such a move will guarantee their victory against their key competitors in the August 9 polls. This about turn comes barely a month after Raila and the alliance assured small parties that they will get a chance to compete at the poll. The parties have said zoning will lock them out of the competition.
Mr Odinga said there are 26 parties under Azimio La Umoja Alliance and their main goal is to bag the presidential post come August 9. He went on to say: “In Nairobi, Jubilee and ODM sat down and agreed on various issues. Nairobi has 85 wards. Out of them, 45 are occupied by Jubilee as at now while 40 are occupied by ODM. We agreed that Jubilee and ODM parties continue occupying their respective zones. The county has 17 constituencies and Jubilee has eight MPs, ODM has eight while Wiper has one. That will remain the same.”
Raila Odinga spoke in Nanyuki where he met aspirants and leaders under Azimio. With him was Ndiritu Muriithi the board chairman for his presidential campaign, and Murang’a Woman Representative Sabina Chege.
Candidates running for parliamentary seats are more affected by Raila’s decision as the coalition seeks to prevent cannibalism that could affect its numbers in the Senate and National Assembly. Gubernatorial aspirants are also to be affected especially in counties with more than two aspirants from Azimio la Umoja Coalition against sole Kenya Kwanza candidates.
Counties to face possible zoning after affiliate parties fronted their candidates against Kenya Kwanza. include; Mombasa, Nyamira, Kisii, Garissa, and Wajir. Jubilee, ODM, and Wiper are fielding governor candidates in the counties separately.
The team has recommended fielding in Ukambani having only one candidate each from the coalition to face off with MPs who are defending their seats on United Democratic Alliance (UDA) tickets. According to Mr Odinga, zoning was Azimio’s best chance to get numbers in both Houses and the Council of Governors.
“I know you were in competition to win elective seats. Do not hate whoever was picked to fly the Azimio ticket because we need all of you on board even if you lost a seat. We will have another job for you in my government and that is why I have come to listen to you,” added Raila.
Raila stated that the coalition’s team of experts is presently on a retreat to draft and review a manifesto set to be released to the public in the coming week.
