Jubilee Secretary General Raphael Tuju has blasted Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party aspirants for exploiting former Prime Minister Raila Odinga in their campaigns.
Speaking at an ODM aspirants' meeting in Migori County on Saturday, January 29, Tuju stated that the leaders were using the images of Raila to campaign for themselves at the expense of popularising the candidature of the ODM boss.
The SG stated that most of the aspirants would win the elections with the current numbers of registered voters in the Nyanza region insisting that there was a need to mobilise more people in the region to register as voters.
He cited the low voter registration in some of ODM strongholds stating that he was doing more to campaign for Raila than some of the aspirants.
“In your cars, you have put the images of Raila and if you don’t organise people to go and register as voters, then it means that you are just exploiting his name.
“I am better than you because you already have your seat as the MCA. The people are enough for you but they are not enough for him (Raila). He needs those who will register themselves as voters,” he stated.
Additionally, Tuju stated that the former premier would have won the 2017 General Election if most voters in the Nyanza region turned up to vote.
“In 2017, Jubilee won with 1.4 million. Those votes that were dormant here (Nyanza) during the 2017 elections were 1.5 million.
“Theoretically, if everybody had voted, then there is no way Jubilee would be in government today. That is the truth and that is the server,” he stated.
The sentiments by the Jubilee party boss come after Raila threatened to drop his presidential bid citing the low voter turn up in some parts of Nyanza during his tour in Migori and Homabay counties.
"We keep telling them to register but they don't want to. They keep asking us how it will help them. I am outside the government, if you don't want me to continue my quest, I will just leave it. Do you want me to drop out of the race? Do you? If you don't, please register as voters," the former Prime Minister stated.
Consequently, various governors in the region issued directives to county residents over the second voter registration being conducted by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).
On January 24, Kisumu Governor Prof Anyang’ Nyongo gave county staff a two-week break to mobilise their friends and families to register as voters.
