Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Alliance coalition Presidential flag-bearer Raila Odinga has been forced to defend his call for a six-piece voting pattern after it rubbed some partner parties the wrong way.
The ODM party leader had initially called for Kenyans to adopt the style in order to guarantee him a stable government should he win the upcoming August 9 polls.
While issuing party tickets to candidates at the Bomas of Kenya on Wednesday, April 20, Raila clarified that he meant the six-piece voting pattern to be applied only in ODM strongholds.
He noted that he is mandated to make ODM, the biggest party in the country. Further, the former Premier likened the Azimio coalition to a polygamous family where every child retreated to their individual house after sunset.
"As the party leader of ODM, my main aim is to push the agenda of the party," he stated.
The the six-piece suit pattern calls on voters to elect leaders from a specific political party in all six elective positions from Members of the County Assemblies (MCAs) to the President.
The clarion by Odinga had attracted backlash from the Jubilee party including its vice-chair, David Murathe who noted that the approach would hurt Raila's Presidential campaign bid.
"If you say it’s a monolith, ODM, people will not turn out to vote. That’s what we did in 2017, in North-Eastern for example, where we said Jubilee lined up four or five parties and all voted President (Uhuru) Kenyatta at the top,” Murathe spoke to the media.
His sentiments were backed by KANU Secretary-General Nick Salat who noted that the pattern was not a wise decision.
“We cannot achieve maximum presidential votes through the route he is going. It is better that he allows other parties to contest because he is still the beneficiary,” he stated.
