Cord has settled on a flag bearer, say officials

Siaya Senator James Orengo (left) with his Machakos counterpart Johnson Muthama after a press conference at Parliament Buildings on September 21, 2016. Mr Muthama said on October 14, 2016 that the next General Election will mark the third and final liberation of Kenya. PHOTO | DENNIS ONSONGO | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Mr Odinga has said there was no “emergency” to warrant a meeting of the coalition’s principals.

Cord Management Committee co-chairmen Johnson Muthama and James Orengo have said the coalition has already settled on a presidential candidate for the next General Election.

The two said they have been holding a series of strategic meetings with Ford Kenya’s Eseli Simiyu, and have come up with a strong candidate and a formidable line-up to face Jubilee in 2017.

The announcement made on Friday at a press conference in Kisumu comes in the wake of a vicious scramble by Cord co-principals Raila Odinga, Kalonzo Musyoka and Moses Wetang’ula to be the coalition’s flag bearer.

Mr Muthama said the next General Election will mark “the third and final liberation of Kenya” and the coalition, therefore, needs to come up with a team that will remove President Uhuru Kenyatta’s government from power.

“Do you think we can be sitting pretty 11 months to elections without a presidential candidate? We already have one but we are not unveiling him yet to keep our rivals guessing until the last meeting,” said Mr Muthama.

Jubilee has been asking Cord to name its candidate who will face Mr Kenyatta, while there have been mixed signals by the opposition coalition’s affiliate parties on whether they should unveil their flag bearer by the end of this year.

Earlier this week, Mr Odinga’s allies wanted the Cord flag bearer picked in May next year, brushing aside Mr Musyoka’s demand for the candidate to be agreed upon by December.

Mr Odinga has said there was no “emergency” to warrant a meeting of the coalition’s principals.

He said the Ford-K leader, Mr Wetang’ula, had told him there was no need for a formal meeting over the flag bearer issue.

His allies argued that the May date would open room for more candidates, including Amani National Congress leader Musalia Mudavadi, who has expressed intention to work with the opposition coalition.