• Last week, Azimio announced a rationalisation plan that compels constituent parties to harmonise candidates in a bid to counter increased sibling rivalries.
• On Monday, Sifuna announced that the preferred candidate for the Azimio la Umoja coalition was the incumbent Anthony Oluoch.
Former Agriculture Minister Kipruto Arap Kirwa now says that it was upon the Jubilee Party to communicate changes of Mathare constituency to its candidate.
He said it was not in ODM secretary general Edwin Sifuna's place to communicate Jubilee Party affairs to Kevin Bahati, which was a clear demonstration of lack of effective communication in parties within coalitions.
“It was clear from the beginning that certain sub counties would go to Jubilee and others ODM. Bahati should have been informed by jubilee that the sub county had been zoned for ODM," Kirwa said.
On Monday, Sifuna announced that the preferred candidate for the Azimio la Umoja coalition was the incumbent Anthony Oluoch.
He also said that Bahati, who was seeking the seat on a Jubilee ticket was to step aside.
Jubilee party had already given singer Kevin Kioko Bahati the nomination certificate and had already been cleared by IEBC .
Sifuna and Bahati have been engaged in a verbal war over the issue with the singer insisting he will be in the ballot come August 9.
Kirwa who is former United Democratic Alliance (UDA) vice chairman explained the same situation was witnessed in Embakasi Central where an ODM aspirant wanted to vie but was told its a Jubilee zone
“These are certain discussions that should have cascaded down to the candidate so that as the candidate pays the money, knows the sub county belongs to a certain political alignment," he added.
Kirwa further stated the need to create organic political identities that will build on past experiences for the purpose of presenting credible candidates.
He noted that in Kenya, political parties own the process of nominations, hence they can decide who is the best candidate to win the seats
“If your conformance is below 30 per cent you are subjected to primaries but if you are doing certain threshold development, then you would retain the seat in that particular formation," Kirwa added.
Last week, Azimio la Umoja coalition announced a rationalisation plan that compels constituent parties to harmonise candidates in a bid to counter increased sibling rivalries.
The decision was reached after Azimio leader Raila Odinga convened a meeting at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre in Nairobi to discuss the Coalition’s preparation for the August 9 polls.
The zoning talks have caused jitters among candidates already cleared for various seats.