BIG BLOW TO MUDAVADI AND WETANGULA

Tharaka Nithi Senator Kithure Kindiki has confirmed that Amani National Congress (ANC) leader Musalia Mudavadi and his Ford Kenya counterpart Moses Wetang’ula have a 70 per cent vote target from the 2.2 million Western vote bloc in a deal with Deputy President William Ruto.

As one of the drafters and custodians of the Kenya Kwanza coalition agreement, Prof Kindiki said Mr Mudavadi and Mr Wetang’ula consented to provide the votes from Western region so that they could get the positions of Prime Cabinet Secretary and Speaker of the National Assembly, respectively.

“For Ford Kenya and ANC, it was decided that should we meet a certain threshold of votes where we have massive followings based on opinion polls and past elections, they can be assigned government responsibilities to a certain percentage,” said Prof Kindiki on Citizen TV.

“It is correct that the duo has to deliver 70 percent of votes from Western. They would not have signed if they were uncomfortable with that requirement.”

Critics of the Kenya Kwanza deal, especially those in Raila Odinga’s Azimio la Umoja One Kenya coalition, have laughed off the target, saying Mr Mudavadi and Mr Wetang’ula could not match the demand.

Mudavadi and Wetangula are also primed to be allocated 30 per cent of the appointive government positions if the DP Ruto-led team wins the August showdown.

“The Political Parties Act requires the party to disclose not only the government structure but also the parameters which will guide assignment of responsibilities in the next government,” Kindiki said on Citizen TV’s NewsNight show on Tuesday.

“So for Ford Kenya and ANC, it was decided that should we reach a certain threshold of votes from areas where they have massive following based on opinion polls and past elections then they can be assigned government responsibilities up to a certain percentage.”

The same statutes, Kindiki continued, will apply to Pamoja African Alliance (PAA) leader Kilifi Governor Amason Kingi who is seeking the Senate speaker’s slot in DP Ruto’s administration.

While noting that the Kenya Kwanza coalition agreement is a conglomeration of the ideologies of UDA, Ford Kenya and ANC, Kindiki also revealed that the document clearly spells out the responsibilities of DP Ruto’s running mate, Mathira MP Rigathi Gachagua.

“If there is an office created to ensure the smooth running of government it should not bring conflict, the same way the current administration has carelessly brought conflict between the office of a cabinet minister and the office of an elected deputy president, so that document thrashes out that problem,” he said.

The Tharaka Nithi Senator consequently revealed that despite filing the coalition agreement with the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties (ORPP), the process is still not complete in that the Kenya Kwanza Alliance must still offer additional information, pertaining to the resolution of the constituent parties.

By kenyan report.