Uhuru-Ruto coalition carves up counties ahead of the elections

The Jubilee Alliance has zoned counties according to the strength of the parties. A majority of the counties in Central Kenya and Nairobi have been handed to Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta’s The National Alliance.

In a coalition agreement seen by the Sunday Nation, TNA has been assigned all the constituencies in Nairobi except Lang’ata and Dagoretti North, which will fall under the United Republican Party (URP) led by Eldoret North MP William Ruto.

Delegates of the Jubilee parties – which agreed on a 50-50 power-sharing agreement – are on Sunday scheduled to hold a conference in Nairobi’s Kasarani Sports Centre to endorse Mr Kenyatta as the presidential candidate and Mr Ruto as running mate.

Endorse Kenyatta

While TNA will be fighting for seats in the larger Mt Kenya region, the United Republican Party has been allocated a majority of counties in the Rift Valley.

According to the agreement, Mr Kenyatta and Mr Ruto will have some leeway to directly nominate up to 12 per cent of candidates for all the parliamentary seats in the nominations to be conducted by a 12-member elections board.

The board comprises members from the Jubilee parties.

At the regional level, the nominations will be handled by the Coalition County Nomination Advisory Board, which will have between seven and 21 members, one each from each constituency in the county.

The board will have at least one youth, one person with disability and meet the gender rule stipulated in the Constitution.

“The presidential candidate and deputy presidential candidate will retain residual discretion in very limited circumstances to determine instances where both the resources of the coalition permit both parties to issue nomination certificates proved that such instances shall not exceed 12 per cent of the total number of parliamentary seats,” says the agreement.

After the choice of presidential candidate, the party primaries will be a major test for the alliance as it prepares to battle it out with Prime Minister Raila Odinga and Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka’s Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (Cord).

The arrangement is to allow the two parties field candidates in areas where they think they have a strong following in an effort to ensure they win in 24 counties as required by the Constitution.

In the deal TNA has 15 counties — including Murang’a, Kiambu, Kirinyaga and Nyeri — while URP has been allocated 13.

Cord, on its part, has its eyes on the presidency, 160 parliamentary seats and 29 seats each for governorship and Senate. The coalition last Friday expressed confidence that it would win more than 30 seats for women representatives and gain the majority in 31 county assemblies.

Legislative changes

“We urge our supporters to come out in large numbers since even this margin of victory will not ensure that we can push the legislative changes that Kenyans are demanding for a better life,” said a statement from Cord after a retreat in Naivasha.

Besides the Rift Valley, URP which has styled itself as the party of pastoralists, has been allocated the coastal counties of Mombasa, Kilifi, Kwale and Taita-Taveta. But TNA has been allocated Voi and Taveta constituencies.

In the deal, Mr Ruto’s party has been allowed nominate a candidate for Tharaka constituency in Eastern, where it recently won a civic seat.

The two Gusii counties of Nyamira and Kisii are in the TNA column. Foreign Affairs minister Sam Ongeri is expected to wage a spirited campaign against ODM in the area.

Environment minister Chirau Ali Mwakwere and Mvita MP Najib Balala, who are leading members of the Jubilee Alliance, come from Mombasa and Kwale counties respectively while assistant minister Kazungu Kambi comes from Kilifi.

In Taita-Taveta county, Gender minister Naomi Shaaban is the TNA front person and one of Mr Kenyatta’s strongest supporters.

But it will be everybody for himself in the strongholds of Mr Odinga and Mr Musyoka, particularly in Nyanza, Western and Ukambani.

The Kenyatta team is eyeing Nakuru county, which comprises Naivasha, Molo, Kuresoi, Rongai and Subukia constituencies.

Pastoralist areas

But the parties are yet to reach an agreement on pastoralist areas such as the violence-hit Tana River, Garissa, Wajir, Mandera, Samburu, Isiolo and Marsabit, where they both claim considerable support.

But they hope to share the spoils in the cosmopolitan Narok and Kajiado counties.

Formerly represented by George Saitoti, Kajiado North has a large Kikuyu population while Kajiado Central and Kajiado West are largely occupied by the Maasai where Mr Ruto is seen to have made inroads.

Here, he is expected to face off with Defence assistant minister Joseph Nkaissery, who is the ODM treasurer.

Mr Kenyatta’s TNA has also staked a claim to the cosmopolitan Narok North constituency, the home of veteran politician William ole Ntimama, an ODM stalwart.