How Kenya Kwanza, Azimio Top Decisions Will Be Made and By Who

Azimio party members President Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga (left) and their Kenya Kwanza counterpart Deputy President William Ruto and ANC leader Musalia Mudavadi.
Azimio party members President Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga (left) and their Kenya Kwanza counterpart Deputy President William Ruto and ANC leader Musalia Mudavadi.
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Over the last three days, the news media has been awash with the details of the agreements establishing the leading political coalitions: Azimio One Kenya and Kenya Kwanza. 



While government sharing among member parties has been told exhaustively, how the two coalitions will be managed, run and governed remains foreign to many Kenyans.

Kenyans.co.ke gives you a complete comparison on how the two political factions will be governed, how members can withdraw, the dissolution processes as well as the overall organisation of parliament and county assemblies.

President Uhuru Kenyatta, ODM leader Raila Odinga, and Wiper Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka during the Azimio La Umoja Council meeting at KICC on Thursday, April 21, 2022.
President Uhuru Kenyatta, ODM leader Raila Odinga, and Wiper Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka during the Azimio La Umoja Council meeting at KICC on Thursday, April 21, 2022.
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Decision Making Organs

According to Article 5 on Organs of the Coalition in the Azimio One Kenya, the faction will have nine organs with the Party Leader and Deputy Party Leader being the top most organs.

Below them, there will be a Coalition Council that will comprise of seven members drawn from the constituent member parties. The council will meet once every three months at a time its chairperson deems appropriate.

On the other hand, the Kenya Kwanza alliance’s top most organ will be the Party Leaders Forum (PLF) which will meet twice every month before the August 9 General Election and thereafter once every three months or as may be decided by the party leaders.

Meetings of the PLF, according to the Kenya Kwanza agreement, will be convened by the chairperson, who will be the Presidential candidate by the virtue of the office he holds - or by joint requisition by the other two members of the PLF.

In this case, only Deputy President, William Ruto, can single-handedly call for a PLF meeting. For Mr Musalia Mudavadi and Mr Moses Wetangula, the two can only  call for the meeting jointly through writing.

The third most powerful decision body in Azimio One Kenya is the National Executive Committee (NEC). The committee will comprise nine members who will be drawn from the member parties.

NEC will be charged with the primary responsibility of supervising the administrative machinery of the coalition and ensuring the coalition policies are adhered to in both houses of Parliament and in the County Assemblies.

Below NEC, Azimio One Kenya will have a National Secretariat that is led by Mr Raphael Tuju, the Executive Director.

The Secretariat’s primary responsibility is to manage the day-to-day affairs of the Coalition Party, coordinate and implement decisions of the organs of the coalition as well as any other duty geared towards ensuring the Coalition Party’s objectives are met.

President Uhuru Kenyatta speaks to DP William Ruto outside KICC after PG meeting on Monday, June 22.
President Uhuru Kenyatta speaks to DP William Ruto outside KICC after PG meeting on Monday, June 22.
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It will also be Mr Tuju’s responsibility to coordinate the activities of the Coalition Party County Caucus in order to ensure the strengthening and popularization of the Coalition at the grassroots level.

 

County and Parliamentary Groups 

On the other hand, Kenya Kwanza’s agreement eliminates the bureaucracies of too many leadership bodies but creates a room for their formation. 

The Party Leaders Forum - an equivalent of the Coalition Council in Azimio - has the power to approve or authorise the establishment of other coalition structures when and where deemed necessary. 

The Kenya Kwanza agreement adds that the powers, roles and functions of other coalition structures will be defined in a Deed of Variation, separate from the original agreement establishing the coalition, and signed by the Party Leaders Forum.

Both outfits have the Coalition Parliamentary Group and the County Coalition Caucus. However, Kenya Kwanza has the Coalition Governors Forum.

The County cuacuses will consist of elected Members of the County Assemblies (MCAs) from the member parties. The Parliamentary caucuses will bring together members of the National Assembly and the Senate elected or nominated by the member parties.

The Governors’ Forum will bring together county bosses elected on the coalition parties’ tickets. Its first meeting will be convened by an official from the headquarters of any of the founding member parties as may be decided by the Party Leaders Forum, and shall meet once every three months.

The two factions also have disciplinary committees and dispute resolution panels.

 

Withdrawal of Memberships 

The two coalitions have laid down the steps and procedures to be followed by member parties should they want to withdraw from the coalitions.

For Kenya Kwanza, Article 29 states that “the agreement shall terminate on the date of the 2027 General Election”. However, the agreement can be extended as may be agreed by consensus of the Party Leaders Forum.

Article 30 states that the coalition will automatically be dissolved should two of the founding member parties write seeking to withdraw their memberships. 

The withdrawal will also take effect 30 days from the date of the notice of withdrawal. In case of a dissolution, common assets and liabilities will be shared proportionately as may be determined by an independent auditor.

On its part, Azimio One Kenya, in Article 22, says that any party can withdraw from the coalition on condition that it gives a 90-day notice in writing. 

However, no party can withdraw from the coalition six months to the general election or three months after such an election.

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