Inside Kenya Kwanza and Azimio La Umoja strategy to secure majority in Parliament

Presidential candidates Raila Odinga and William Ruto have decided to field contestants from each party in their respective coalitions in an attempt to secure majority in the National Assembly, Senate, Council of Governors, and county assemblies.

A Gazette Notice published by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) indicates that United Democratic Alliance (UDA), a party led by Deputy President Ruto, has sponsored the most candidates for the respective elective seats.

For the National Assembly, UDA has fielded 261 candidates out of 290 constituencies in total, followed by Odinga's Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) which has sponsored 181 candidates while Jubilee Party led by President Uhuru Kenyatta comes in third with 178 candidates.

Amani National Congress (ANC) affiliated with Musalia Mudavadi and Moses Wetang’ula's Ford Kenya have 71 and 34 respective candidates fighting for a place in the National Assembly.

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Other notable parties that have fielded a huge chunk of candidates include Kenya African National Union (KANU) with 78 candidates, Wiper Democratic Movement with 69 candidates and Democratic Action Party-Kenya with 61.

It should be noted the constitution allows for 290 elected members in the National Assembly, 47 women representatives from the counties, 12 members nominated by parliamentary political parties to represent special interests of youth, persons with disabilities and workers.

Azimio has fielded a total of 567 candidates and Kenya Kwanza 366

Referencing to the IEBC notice, Azimio has a total of 567 candidates vying for the National Assembly in comparison to 366 for Kenya Kwanza across the country.

Out of the 567 candidates from Azimio, 68 are vying for governor against 57 Kenya Kwanza candidates. Azimio further leads in woman rep candidates, fielding 100 as compared to Kenya Kwanza with 68.

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Out of the 47 counties, UDA has produced 38 candidates interested in the Senate, and 41 gubernatorial aspirants. The party also has the highest number of candidates vying for county assembly positions.

ODM has fielded 31 candidates interested in the senatorial seats and 23 gubernatorial candidates. Jubilee has 33 candidates vying for Senate, and 25 for governor.