Already, there is intense lobbying on who should be considered for the proposed seat.
With opposition chief Raila Odinga unavailable for the job—having declared interest in the African Union Commission chairmanship—his troops in Azimio are quietly scheming for the powerful seat. This manoeuvring adds to the tension in the opposition camp.
Narc Kenya boss Martha Karua and Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka are perceived to be the front runners in the absence of Raila.
Karua, having been Raila’s running mate, is considered the best alternative to replace Raila, who was the Azimio candidate in the 2022 elections.
Those fronting Kalonzo are pegging his chances on his sacrifice for Raila, as well as his party's strength in Parliament.
Kalonzo has twice played running mate to Raila and sacrificed his 2022 ambitions to back Raila/Karua ticket.
Mumias East MP Peter Salasya on Thursday supported Karua arguing that being the Azimio running mate in 2022, she should hold brief when Raila is away.
The DAP-K lawmaker said the opposition should disregard any other consideration and pick the Narc Kenya boss.
“Because of the respect, let us bring in Karua. She should be leader of the opposition because she was to be the deputy president. We should put aside things to do with the party strengths,” Salasya told the Star.
The National Dialogue Committee report recommended the occupant of the opposition leader’s office in Parliament be the leader of the largest party or coalition that garnered the second-largest number of votes in the election.
The report, which is a product of the talks co-chaired by Kalonzo and Majority leader Kimani Ichung’wah, also proposes two deputies to the official leader of the opposition.
Going by the NADCO recommendations, ODM appears to be meeting the qualification set by the Bomas team, owing to its numerical strength in both houses of Parliament.
Already Raila’s ODM has insisted that party strength must be a key consideration in picking the holder of the proposed office.
ODM deputy leader Wycliffe Oparanya in a recent interview called for the party with the highest numbers to take the slot.
“The decision about who takes that position should our party leader take the continental role, would be based on numbers in Parliament. You cannot lead a team if your party has no members in the two houses,” Oparanya was quoted as saying.
“ODM will pick the holder. I know we may have a transitional arrangement for the position before a proper structure can be put in place after the next polls.”
At the moment, Raila’s ODM party has the second largest number of MPs after UDA, which formed government as part of the Kenya Kwanza Alliance.
According to Parliament records, the orange party has 86 elected members followed by Jubilee which sent 28 MPs to the 13th Parliament.
Wiper on the other hand has 26 MPs.
Karua’s Narc Kenya party has no representation in the bicameral Parliament.
In what is likely to further complicate the opposition leader pick, Raila on Thursday endorsed his two deputies ex-governors Oparanya (Kakamega) and Hassan Joho (Mombasa) to steer the party in his absence.
“I’m here with governors Oparanya and Joho. They will come together (to lead ODM). A party with a strong foundation cannot crumble just because one person has left," Raila said in Wajir on Thursday.
"I'm confident that these (two) will continue driving the party agenda even though I’ll be in Addis Ababa. If they want advice, I'm ready. ODM will remain intact.”
The endorsement now gives both Oparanya and Joho the latitude to go for the party’s rightful share in the coalition and in essence puts the duo in the race for the coveted Leader of Opposition position.
The development is however likely to trigger a shakeup in Azimio with Kalonzo allies laying claim to the position.
The pro-Kalonzo voices want ODM to be contented with the Minority positions in the two houses.
ODM has already produced the Leader of minority in the National Assembly, Opiyo Wandayi, and his Senate counterpart, Stewart Madzayo.
Machakos Deputy Governor Francis Mwangangi, a close Kalonzo ally, vouched for Kalonzo insisting he should be the automatic opposition leader.
Mwangangi further warned of a possible fallout in the behemoth coalition should the Wiper boss be shortchanged.
“So far and within Azimio, we have one candidate who has expressed willingness, that candidate has the backing of the party, the candidate (Raila) who has been there, has said he has no problem backing the candidate of Azimio,” Mwangangi told the Star on phone.
“There maybe others who will come out in the future, I think for now it should go to Kalonzo Musyoka.”
“The viability and the candidate who is also likely to be acceptable by the majority of Kenyans, it should be a person who will unite the coalition otherwise if we don’t have that then it would mean the death of the coalition.”
Embakasi South MP Julius Mawathe, another Kalonzo confidant, said Azimio will make the decision at an appropriate time, adding that the coalition has capable leaders to fill in the slot.
“It is a good thing to have leader of opposition in office to check the executive, we have very many qualified individuals in Azimio that are able to fill that position,” Mawathe said in an interview.
“As at now, what is required is to have the position officially. We need leadership and guidance. As opposition, we need someone who can put our heads together on how to put the executive in check.”
MPs have already started considering the NADCO bills including the Leader of Official Opposition Bill, 2024 which anchors the office into law.
