Confusion as UDA Announces Plans to Field Candidate to Compete With ODM in By-Election
Confusion has gripped the political landscape after the ruling United Democratic Alliance (UDA) on Thursday announced that it will be fielding a candidate in the upcoming by-election for the Ugunja parliamentary seat.
Speaking during a press conference, Acting UDA Secretary General Hassan Omar reiterated that the ruling party was banking on the newfound brotherhood with ODM to allow it to field a candidate for the position which fell vacant after Opiyo Wandayi was appointed to the cabinet as Energy Minister.
“There is a desire that in the same spirit of brotherhood and in the same spirit of the broad-based government, that there is a desire by the UDA Luo Nyanza leadership that we do consider fielding a candidate in Ugunja,” Omar stated.
“This is timely and in good spirit and we support that. We will consult and seek approval from the party leader,” he added.
UDA Secretary General Hassan Omar at a past function
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UDA
The latest development is likely to test the political dalliance between President William Ruto and Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) leader Raila Odinga who ceased political hostilities and agreed to work together following charged anti-government protests.
The truce also culminated in 4 senior ODM members being appointed to the cabinet.
As it stands, several UDA leaders from the Luo Nyanza have expressed interest in vying for the position. UDA will likely field a strong candidate to compete with ODM’s with the latter pick expected to be the firm favourite.
Despite agreeing to work together, ODM is unlikely to entertain the idea of a friendly party trying to capture a parliamentary seat in its political bedrock. The Raila-led party has in the past fiercely defended its political bases with vigor.
According to Hassan Omar, UDA officials will hold extensive consultations on the matter and once the decision is made to field a candidate, focus will be turned on ensuring that the election exercise is not divisive.
While on a development tour to the Nyanza Region in August President Ruto announced he and Raila will work for the greater good of the country ahead of the 2027 elections.
Meanwhile, President Ruto has intensified his efforts to campaign for Raila as the latter seeks to clinch the African Union Commission (AUC) seat.
Raila has in the course of the month accompanied President Ruto on his trips to China and Germany which the Head of State used as a platform to lobby African Heads of State to vote for Raila.
It is also instructive to note that in August, Raila claimed that former President Uhuru Kenyatta called him and requested him to arrange a meeting with Ruto to save the country from burning at the height of the Gen Z anti-government protests.
Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga (left) and National Assembly Minority Leader Opiyo Wandayi.
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Azimio
