Raila Odinga’s deputy and Kakamega Governor Wycliff Oparanya over the weekend told four constituent parties in National Super Alliance coalition to part ways, in preparation for 2022.
The governor has challenged the four parties – ODM, ANC, Wiper and Ford Kenya – which came together in a bid to clinch the 2017 presidency, to concentrate on party affairs as they failed to have the seat.
“Other parties should leave us — ODM — alone so we do our own business. Let’s meet in 2022 when we’re strong.
“If it will be me in ODM, we will talk and if it will be Raila we will talk when election time comes,” the county chief said, a day after President Uhuru Kenyatta met his boss Raila Odinga.
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He added: “Once the parties have strengthened themselves, they could reconsider coming together again in 2022.”
The governor on Saturday urged Mr Odinga to concentrate on national healing and assemble a united team to clinch the presidency in 2022. He once again disclosed that he will run for Presidency on an ODM ticket in 2022.
In a rare move, Mr Oparanya asked ANC’s Musalia Mudavadi and Ford Kenya’s Moses Wetang’ula to support his 2022 presidential ambitions. It emerged that the two Nasa co-principals are jostling up for the presidency seat in 2022, or at least succeed Raila Odinga.
Lost 2017 presidency
Mr Oparanya quipped that the NASA affiliate parties – ODM, ANC, Wiper and Ford Kenya - should refocus on strengthening themselves separately.
“Weak parties will have no impact in the next General Election,” he told mourners at a funeral over the weekend.
Mr Oparanya’s sentiments comes amid rising concerns over the need for ODM to be part of the Nasa coalition, after a taskforce was formed to evaluate its sustained stay in the coalition.
Just last week Thursday, ODM Secretary-General Edwin Sifuna announced a plan to evaluate the suitability of ODM’s sustained stay in the National Super Alliance coalition, pending the recommendations from a five-member committee formed to craft an exit strategy from Nasa.
Should the five-member team give a green light to the exit, the Raila Odinga led party could soon start looking for new political allies, the party secretary-general Edwin Sifuna said in a press briefing on Thursday in Nairobi.
A team comprising of five members – Catherine Mumma, Larry Gumba, Irshad Sumra, Alfelt Gunda and Tony Moturi - has been formed to review the coalition’s performance in 2013 and 2017 general elections’ benefits to the party. If the team finds the coalition unbeneficial, then it could quit.
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The taskforce formed, the party said, would review ODM’s ideology, shared values and manifesto, for the last three general elections, starting from the 2007, a time of its formation and remark on the relevance.
Working with DP Ruto
Last week Monday, Mr Sifuna was forced to clarify that ODM had no intentions of seeking political relations with DP Ruto ahead of the 2022 general elections, as was earlier hinted by Mr Oparanya.
Speaking in an interview, Sifuna dismissed reports that Raila Odinga’s deputy, Wycliffe Oparanya, was in talks with Deputy President William Ruto on the possibility of forming a coalition for 2022, other than Nasa.
“Every leader in ODM, who are above me in the party, is entitled to their opinion, and I cannot speak for any of them. We have no plans to move out of Nasa, I have said this many times.
What we are saying is that the leaders in both ODM and Nasa coalition should watch out so that we resolve the current electoral injustices before we can talk about 2022. If someone has no blood for such a course, then there is always an alternative,” Sifuna affirmed.