Jubilee Vice Chairperson David Murathe on Wednesday, September 23, stated that Deputy President William Ruto was free to field a candidate for the Msambweni Constituency by-election.
Murathe stated that the DP could field a candidate using any other party, noting that Jubilee was in full support of the candidate that would be fronted by ODM.
“There are several parties that they can use to field a candidate if they have to. There is that The Service Party (TSP) by Mwangi Kiunjuri.
"They have to know that what Tuju has said is the party position. If Ruto has a problem with the decision, let him face the president because the SG has basically communicated the position of the party leader," Murathe stated.
Ruto, during a press briefing, stated that he was satisfied with the party's decision not to field any candidate in the December 15, 2020 by-election.
The DP stated that he had held a meeting with other Jubilee leaders and had been briefed of the decisions that had been made.
"We will all stand by that decision that those who had intentions of vying on a Jubilee ticket in Msambweni will now look for alternatives, maybe run as independent candidates or in other political parties,” he stated.
Speculation was rife that the DP would have fielded a candidate in the constituency in a bid to square it out with ODM leader Raila Odinga in the by-election.
A day after his announcement, the DP, on Thursday, met Feisal Abdallah Bader who is an aspirant for the Msambweni seat at Karen, Nairobi County.
He was accompanied by Coast MPs Athman Shariff (Lamu East), Moha JichoPevu (Nyali), Owen Baya (Kilifi North), Khatib Mwashetani (Lunga Lunga) and Aisha Jumwa (Malindi).
Not much was known about their discussions at the time of publishing.
The meeting came a day after a statement signed by the party secretary-general Raphael Tuju stated that the party had received numerous enquiries from potential aspirants but opted not to front any candidate.
The decision not to participate, the party stated, was informed by the recent advisory by the Chief Justice that Parliament should be dissolved.
Additionally, Tuju stated that the party also considered the coopration between Jubilee and ODM in Parliament.
"Given that this was an ODM seat, the decision has been made that Jubilee will not field a candidate in the interest of the bigger picture," reads an excerpt from the statement.
