3 Reasons Why Jubilee MPs Voted Oburu Odinga for EALA Job

Dr Oburu Odinga, the elder brother of NASA leader Raila Odinga, was among leaders elected to represent Kenya at the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) and surprisingly got a huge backing from Members of Parliament allied to the Jubilee Party.

Oburu ranked 4th after the final tally with 243 votes behind Kennedy Musyoka of Wiper (309), Jubilee’s Simon Mbugua (286) and Florence Jematiah (252).

According to the Nation, a number of Jubilee MPs stated that experience and education influenced them to vote for Odinga as he is a holder of a Ph.D. in Economics.

[caption caption="Oburu Odinga and his Elder Brother Raila Odinga"][/caption]

The fact that he has been active in politics for over two decades also gave him a slight advantage as he is seen as someone who will add value to EALA.

Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro added that most people voted for Mr Oginga because of lack of alternatives and his popularity.

“I have heard many youth complaining why MPs voted for Oburu, the youths did not even present their candidature, so how could we vote for people who are absent?"

“So many youth are on Facebook and Twitter complaining about the old people taking leadership positions and thinking that such positions will be handed over to them without hard work," he stated.

Another MP stated that the fact that Oburu and Kalonzo's son were elected showed that the differences between President Kenyatta's and former Prime Minister Odinga's camps were not personal.

“We wanted to signal that we mean well even as we compete,” stated a Jubilee MP.

Others elected on the Jubilee Party ticket are former Mandera North MP Aden Nooru Mohammed (192), former Tigania East MP Mpuru Aburi (208) and former Nyandarua Woman Rep Wanjiku Muhia (180).

Elected on the NASA ticket were: Mr Musyoka, former Balambala MP Abdikadir Aden (235) and former Wajir Woman Rep Fatuma Ibrahim Ali (142).

[caption caption="Oburu Odinga"][/caption]