Raila Odinga’s Running mate headache

WITH Elections knocking the door in less than3 months, questions about who would deputize ODM party leader Raila Odinga under the Azimio la umoja
ticket continue to fill the political air in the run up to august polls.

The contest between ODM leader Raila Odinga and Deputy President William Ruto to succeed President Uhuru Kenyatta is likely to be decided by their choice of running mates.

for Odinga, with a few names like former gatanga memver of parliament and Planning assistant minister peter kenneth, agricultural secretary peter Munya, and Nakuru governor lee kinyanjui on the limelight, Raila is faced with an uphill task of picking a running mate without upsetting his voting block. For Raila, a Luo-Kikuyu combination would eliminate the historical divisions that have existed among the two communities since after independence and which tend to flare up during elections.
It would also assure the powerful Kikuyu elite that its interest would be safe. But accepting the logic of a Kikuyu running mate for Odinga is easier than picking one. Who fits the bill?

adding to the quagmire, is the entry of Kalonzo Musyoka to the Azimio la umoja coalition who deputized Raila in the defunct CORD, and NASA coalition in the 2013 and the 2017 general elections and could be eyeing the position in azimio la umoja movement once again.

Uakmbani leaders, allied to the wiper leader are now tabling their demands while working under the azimio la umoja, demands that they insist must be fulfilled. according to the cas ministry of labor jackson kala, their irreeducible minimum is to see kalonzo deputize mr. odinga in the August polls

Wiper Democratic Movement, the party Mr Musyoka leads, has a strong base in the Lower Eastern region, where a majority of its 19 elected Members of Parliament come from, and pockets of support in Nairobi and the Coast.
In 2007, he made a credible presidential run, emerging third with 8.91 percent of the votes behind then President Kibaki, the winner, and Mr Odinga.

But his tendency to flip flop or blow hot and cold on major decisions has also made him one of the most caricatured politicians in the Kenyan media.
A popular portrayal of him in newspaper cartoons is that of a watermelon – green on the outside and red on the inside.

On the flipside, is the mount Kenya region that is keen on clinching the deputy’s seat under Azimio la Umoja movement. But accepting the logic of a Kikuyu running mate is easier than picking one. Who fits the bill? the weighty matter has been the topic of discussion even forcing some mount Kenya elders to weigh in on the debate, urging the Azimio flagbearer to consider picking a running mate from the mount Kenya region.
The elders who spoke in Kitale after a consultative meeting demanded the deputy president slot in Azimio la Umoja coalition, owing to the region’s vote power, a move that may cause anxiety in one of the formidable political associations in the country.