Raila, Kalonzo out to win over Central Kenya

• The Mt Kenya region vote will play a pivotal role in the political fortunes of both Mr Musyoka and Mr Odinga as they stake claim to State House in the year 2012.
• Both men will seize any opportunity to visit the region not only to test the waters but also to woe this key and crucial voting block.
• The Kriegler report alludes to the disparities in voting populations in Kenya’s constituencies, saying they breach the equality principle of democracy.

The gathering of senior politicians from across the political divide in Karatina last Sunday, ostensibly to attend the thank-you party of Mathira MP Ephraim Maina, brought to the fore pertinent issues that will most likely determine the future of the grand coalition.

At the meeting, Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka led PNU allied ministers –George Saitoti, Esther Murugi and Kiraitu Murungi.

Prime Minister Raila Odinga brought with him close allies from the ODM side, including Deputy Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi and Lands minister James Orengo.

Underlying facts

On the face of it, it would appear that the deep-rooted suspicions that have haunted the coalition have thawed considerably for the bigwigs from across the political divide to come together for a thank-you party.

But the underlying facts are that it is increasingly becoming clear that the Mt Kenya region vote will play a pivotal role in the political fortunes of both Mr Musyoka and Mr Odinga as they stake claim to State House in the year 2012.

It is therefore expected that both men will seize any opportunity to visit the region not only to test the waters but also to woe this key and crucial voting block.

Though both men were warmly welcomed to the podium, it was clear from the crowd that the man of the moment was Mr Musyoka who was incidentally the guest of honour.

While more than 70 MPs from the region have implied that they are not averse to forming alliances, they have also made known the rules of engagement under which they will warm up to the idea.

Their demands might have deep implications on the constitutional debate and the political landscape in the coming months.

Top on the agenda is reviewing the constituency boundaries to reflect the population, a debate that was started by Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta a few weeks ago. He was also speaking in Nyeri.

The contention is that in most constituencies in the region, the number of registered voters has risen past the 100,000 mark.

The MPs present at the meeting pointed out that many constituencies in other provinces have a quarter of this population thereby violating the principle of equal representation.

“We are saying that this has to be sorted out before we embark on the constitutional review,” said Mr David Murathe, a key aide to Mr Kenyatta.

He added that one of ODM’s claims to victory was that the party had got more MPs than PNU.

“When you consider that in PNU strongholds, there are constituencies with more than 150,000 voters compared to some ODM areas where the number of voters were less than 20,000, the argument becomes dishonest.”

The ODM wing of the coalition is widely known to favour a parliamentary system of government and this appears to be the main reason driving the agitation for constituency review by their PNU counterparts.

“We would be committing political suicide to agree to such a system when representation is skewed in favour of one side. If the constituencies are not reviewed, then we will fight for the retention of the presidential system, which is the only place where we could get equal opportunity,” says Mr Murathe.

Disparities

Indeed the Kriegler report alludes to the disparities in voting populations in Kenya’s constituencies, saying they breach the equality principle of democracy.

The fate of internally displaced people was also forcefully placed on the negotiating table.

While Internal Security minister George Saitoti pledged to beef up security in conflict-prone areas, Ms Murugi was emphatic that in any future political arrangement, the safety of those outside the Central Kenya region must be guaranteed.

That the post-election violence is still preying on the minds of the leaders was also evident.

Ndaragwa MP Jeremiah Kioni attributed the violence to a campaign that was framed and driven by a concerted effort to negatively portray the peoples from Central Province.

He made clear that their people would be very wary in engaging with politicians who went out of their way to demonise them.

In response and perhaps an indicator to the fact that ODM is going flat out to make inroads in the region, Deputy Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi said in future, no political sentiments would be expressed to scare some communities.