Molo MP, Kimani Kuria, has warned political parties against championing zoning, noting that such practice will likely interfere with democratic rights of electorates as it will champion regional- and ethnic-based parties which are weak and with no clear manifestos.
Speaking to the press in Molo constituency, Kuria warned the proposal by ODM party as part of the pre-coalition agreement saying zoning not only denies Kenyans the right to elect right leaders but also deprives them of the right to demand development from some leaders, as they depend on party endorsement to win elections.
“As much as we welcome the views of our brothers in ODM and other like-minded parties, personally I am against this idea of zoning for a number of reasons. Zoning is the root cause of tribalism and lack of democracy in some regions in this country,” MP Kuria noted.
He urged leaders to align themselves with parties whose manifestos fit the demand of the residents one is ready to represent but not a party only meant to champion the agenda of a certain region or community.
The legislator challenged the leaders and Kenyans to borrow a leaf from USA political party structure where people are either Democrats or Republicans which has given the country an avenue to have strong political party structures for a long period of time.
“We should never have parties formed for a certain electioneering period and only end up being irrelevant the ones the party leader is no more or has lost an election. For instance, Jubilee Party was vibrant in 2017 only for it to be insignificant in 2022,” he added.
The sentiment comes a few days after over 13,000 aspirants who are ready to contest on a UDA ticket held an engagement with top party leadership to set structure before they hit the road for 2027 campaign period.
“I want to thank the highest number of aspirants who have shown interest to contest on UDA ticket in 2027. This shows that more people believe in the UDA manifesto and I would like to encourage other parties to follow suit,” he noted.
His remarks come at a time when countless defectors are leaving the once strongest party, ODM, which is now struggling to survive post Raila era.
ODM in its engagement talks has insisted on zoning as only survival tactic amid rising pressure from young tangs in the party who have already shown interest in creating an ODM Asili party under the umbrella of Governor James Orengo, Millie Odhiambo, Edwin Sifuna and Babu Owino among other leaders.
In Mt Kenya region, the rise of DCP party influence has already created mayhem with leaders like Moses Kuria folding their parties to join UDA out of fear.
The same scenario is seen in Western Kenya where ANC and Ford Kenya are at the verge of closing their doors due to rising influence from UDA, DAP-K and now the new baby in town ODM-Asili.
According to political analyst Ruben Olita, there will be a paradigm shift in Western, Nyanza and Central Kenya with politicians hanging on even as they continue to bow to pressure from youthful leadership.
MP Kuria noted that the biggest test for the political parties will be party preliminaries which will dictate the next move by many politicians who will not survive the wave.
He urged the political parties especially UDA to allow aspirants to contend across all the regions flying high the yellow callow and increasing the competition even in areas assumed to be predominantly for certain parties so that residents have advantage of electing leaders who are ready to serve and who are alive to the manifesto which put interest of all Kenyans at centre stage.
“Let us not limit aspirants to certain areas only. We must create a healthy competition for the benefit of mwananchi who want services not party hooliganism,” he noted.
By Absalom Namwalo
