Politics
One Kenya Alliance To Field Presidential Candidate In 2022
One Kenya Alliance (OKA) principals have announced that they will field one presidential candidate in the 2022 General Election.
The principals met at the Great Rift Valley Lodge Resort in Naivasha on Tuesday, August 17.
“We hereby unequivocally state that One Kenya Alliance will field a presidential candidate in next year’s general election. And the candidate is here,” said OKA in a statement read by Kitutu Chache MP Richard Onyonka.
The Alliance made up of Wiper Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka, Ford-Kenya’s Moses Wetang’ula, Amani National Congress leader Musalia Mudavadi and KANU’s Gideon Moi says top of its agenda is to “resuscitate Kenya’s economy”.
“What we require as a country is to intensify the war against graft in order to salvage public resources diverted for personal gains and channel them to spur our economy,” said OKA.
The Alliance said it won’t support calls for the removal of Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) chairperson Wafula Chebukati, saying the move will “destabilise” the Commission, yet the elections are a few months away.
“We support the independence of the electoral commission and we cannot afford to destabilise the IEBC a year to the elections. As the body mandated to oversee the elections, Kenyans are looking forward to a Commission that will deliver a free, fair, credible, and verifiable elections.”
On Friday, August 20, the Court of Appeal will deliver its ruling on BBI, whether the Constitutional change push will go on, or will be thrown out of the window as it had been by the High Court.
OKA says regardless of the outcome the Alliance will respect the appellate court’s decision.
“As an alliance that believes in the rule of law, we shall accept and respect the verdict of the courts. Irrespective of the outcome, we wish to restate that our resolve to be the leadership committed to seeing a one united Kenya,” said OKA.
The outfit’s decision to field a presidential candidate in the 2022 General Election comes on the back of efforts by President Uhuru Kenyatta to convince the four principals to support a Raila Odinga candidature in the presidential contest.
Musyoka, Wetang’ula, Mudavadi and Moi have reportedly failed to reach a mutual agreement that would see them endorse Raila Odinga for President.
Wiper’s Kalonzo Musyoka said he had supported Raila Odinga in the 2013 and 2017 general elections, and he’d be “stupid” to root for a Raila presidency for a third time.
Samburu West MP Naisula Lesuuda said the principals are currently deliberating on a compromise candidate, who will fly OKA’s flag in the 2022 presidential race.
“We understand everyone wants to know who our presidential candidate is. We are solely behind our principals, and whoever they will give us, we will back him fully,” Lesuuda, who was among 132 OKA-affiliated members at the Great Rift Valley Lodge Resort, said.
Deputy President William Ruto has vowed to that his government if given the mandate to lead the country in the August 9 polls will deal with hands-on with ‘State capture.’
According to the Presidential candidate, state policies are being used to facilitate the theft of public funds as corruption had been absorbed into government.
DP William Ruto made these calims while speaking to the Reuters in an interview.
“We have no intention of prosecuting President Uhuru Kenyatta, but we have every intention of dealing with State capture. It cannot be business as usual,” the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) presidential candidate said.
DP Ruto’s running mate, Rigathi Gachagua also alluded to said State capture, saying those involved will be dealt with should Kenya Kwanza form the next government.
“We will not go after individuals. We will go after all those in state capture and conflict of interest,” Gachagua said in a joint media broadcast.
The Mathira MP vaguely explained that it was “people in power who have used or are using their offices to use up public resources to their advantage,” when asked who or what State capture was.
The DP has also revealed plans of bringing to end the Kenya’s national debt, which currently stands at Sh9 trillion, in an exclusive interview with international media.
He said the country has the capacity to handle the debt situation, and that they as Kenya Kwanza have mapped out plans of how to go about it, should they win.
“We will put the brakes on more borrowing. It may not come to zero but we will begin the journey to slow down on more borrowing,” the DP said.
Campaigns hit fever pitch and candidates scramble for airtime to sell their agendas with just eighteen (18) days left as Kenya will soon be headed to the General Election.
Sonko has increased the intense in the race for Mombasa county which already has aspirants from the UDA and ODM parties.
Sonko has finally been cleared by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to contest for the Mombasa gubernatorial seat.
On Thursday, July 14 2022, Sonko in the accompany of his supporters was given the green light.
The former Nairobi governor was invited by the IEBC to submit his letter for clearance as per a letter addressed to him earlier.
“The venue will be the IEBC Mombasa County offices and you are expected to submit your papers on July 14, 2022 between 2pm and 4pm,” Swalha Ibrahim the returning officer said.
The letter to Sonko came after a high court ruled that the politician doesn’t be disqualified from vying for governor noting that the governor was eligible to run for office. The commission said it could not head to the courts to appeal the decision as time could not allow.
Addressing the media after the clearance, Sonko said his candidature seeks to solve the problems of the people in the Coastal city and that he was bringing a new awakening in the city.
Sonko said he was not worried about the short time time line he has to undertake the campaigns in the large city noting that he was drawing a campaign schedule to begin immediately.
“We must campaign, we have few days but we will utilize them properly. We can do two days per constituency or a day per constituency,” Sonko noted.
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