ODM leader Raila Odinga has declared his team would not force anyone to join Azimio La Umoja movement, days before he is crowned the coalition's presidential flag bearer.
Asked by journalists whether Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka will be present at the Azimio Delegates Conference, Raila said the Saturday meeting is for parties that subscribe to Azimio's ideology.
We will deal with those who come to us. We will not force anybody to come to Azimio. Azimio is for the willing
The crowning of Raila by the affiliate parties supporting his candidature was postponed at the joint ODM and Jubilee NDC to enable Raila and Kalonzo to agree on an even larger political machine.
Many observers consider Kalonzo's vote bloc essential to Raila, others say the path will be more difficult but he can manage to win without him.
But the fate of the deal now remains unclear as Raila and his lieutenants insist they have to soldier on.
"We will deal with those who come to us. We will not force anybody to come to Azimio. Azimio is for the willing," the ODM leader said, when asked about Kalonzo.
Kalonzo has insisted that Raila should support him for the presidency, citing a 2017 deal between him and the former PM.
Speaking in Nairobi on Monday, Raila revealed that affiliate parties will sign coalition papers to formally team up with Azimio.
"It is an open meeting for those who are willing. Nobody is being coerced to join Azimio. These parties are going to sign documents to join Azimio," Raila said.
Raila's declaration as the coalition's flag bearer could jolt talks with Kalonzo who has insisted on joining as an equal partner.
But the Saturday meeting could also bring friction in Kalonzo's One Kenya Alliance as Kanu says they will attend the meeting.
“We are really geared towards unveiling our Azimio presidential candidate. Definitely, Kanu will attend the unveiling. Kanu will not be left out,” secretary general Nick Salat told the Star on Friday.
I still assume there will be talks before Saturday, whatever will be agreed on will be agreed on, whatever is not agreed on, we must move on...We can't be stuck at the same point forever
ODM chairman John Mbadi (Suba South MP) and secretary general Edwin Sifuna said the Saturday event would proceed regardless of the outcome of the talks between Raila and Kalonzo.
“I still assume there will be talks before Saturday, whatever will be agreed on will be agreed on, whatever is not agreed on, we must move on,” Mbadi said.
“If there will be no agreement by that time (Saturday), then such agreements will follow after the unveiling of our presidential candidate if they have to be there,” the minority leader said.
Mbadi said it was time the Azimio side moved on. “I don’t think we can be stuck at the same point forever,” he said.
Sifuna said they were waiting for the Azimio secretariat to tell the party the number of delegates ODM should bring on board for the delegates meeting.
“We are waiting for them to tell us how many delegates to bring as ODM and where we are meeting. I have heard that we shall unveil the Azimio candidate on that day.”
“My candidate is Raila and as ODM, we have already unveiled him as our party’s presidential flagbearer,” Sifuna told the Star on the phone on Monday.
When contacted, Kalonzo’s allies were not clear if they would be part of the Saturday event.
Among the sticky issues, especially for Wiper, is that there is no structured negotiation between President Uhuru Kenyatta and the Raila-led side and the Oka team.
Kitui Central MP Makali Mulu told the Star Oka members want to first deal with their internal issues before they start negotiating with Azimio.
“We were to unveil a lineup last week [for Oka] but there were few technical issues; one of them being whether a coalition can join another coalition or it has to go as a party,” the MP said.
“There were some fears that if you sign a coalition agreement, individual parties may not be able to field candidates independently,” the Wiper MP said.
“We want the issues to do with legal matters sorted out before the signing which we hope would be concluded by end of the week,” the MP said.
The MP also alluded to a show of disrespect by their partners on the Azimio side, which he said is slowing down talks, citing attacks targeting Kalonzo.
“We had said it categorically that as a party and as individuals, we respect Raila a lot. But if his lapdogs will not respect our party leader, let them know we are not short of options,” Mulu said.
The Wiper leader has insisted that Raila backs him according to their written 2017 agreement. It was just between the two of them and was kept secret.
We had said it categorically that as a party and as individuals, we respect Raila a lot. But if his lapdogs will not respect our party leader, let them know we are not short of options
However, their ODM counterparts insist the deal was clear that Raila would only back Kalonzo after serving for one term.
As a build up to the Saturday meeting, Raila and his troops have lined up a series of activities across the country culminating in the Azimio NDC.
A major rally is expected to follow the signing of agreements.
On Tuesday, Raila will be in Samburu followed by Wajir on Wednesday, Meru on Thursday and Kisumu on Friday.
There have been frantic efforts from a section of Raila and Kalonzo allies to broker a deal.
Sources in Kalonzo’s inner circle attributed the perceived slow pace of negotiations to the need for the process to be taken step by step.
A Wiper insider said their party leader’s concern was that "some people want to rush others for nothing, without giving them adequate time to digest the issues of common interest and points of divergence.
“If you are doing a coalition to join others, we must be forward-looking…there must be a leader for that coalition or a structure defining the coalition. Azimio is still an amorphous thing and is not registered.”
The Wiper members said that Oka is keen on first publishing the structure and “then they can talk of whether they are going it alone or teaming with others."
Another official, who also spoke in confidence owing to the sensitivity of the talks, said a meeting between Kalonzo and Gideon Moi while on a trip to Uganda at the weekend brought new insights.
“There are a lot of things they discussed and a few consultations they had while in Uganda. Our person (Wiper leader) likes structures and consultations.
“You cannot dictate to people, more so grownups, that this is one way or the other. We need structured dialogue so that people agree on the way forward,” the official said.
Oka chiefs reportedly met on Monday afternoon to finalise the agreement – said to be ready, taking into consideration the weekend talks between two principals – Gideon and Kalonzo.
“The OKA agreement is ready. The four parties have agreed and I believe they will be having a meeting this afternoon to finalise, then we have the signing ceremony,” a Wiper insider quipped.
Some principals, it was feared, might be reconsidering their chances in Azimio, fuelled by the fear of going against the grain in counties where Kenya Kwanza has a perceived huge following.
At the weekend, Kanu secretary general Nick Salat said they would be part of the unveiling of Raila. “We are ready. Kanu will attend the unveiling. We will not be left out.”
At least 10 political parties — namely ODM, Jubilee, PAA, DAP-K, PNU, UPIA, KUP and UDM — have endorsed Azimio. Kanu and Cyrus Jirongo’s UDM party have also indicated they would join Azimio.
(Edited by V. Graham)
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