PNU is seeking to meet church leaders to search for a compromise on the new constitution as Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta distanced himself from either the “Yes” or “No” side.
Secretary-general Kiraitu Murungi said party leaders would meet on Thursday next week to discuss further how to mobilise their supporters to vote during the referendum.
“Only then can a voter be able to vote for or against the draft constitution during the referendum,” the Imenti South MP said.
The MPs, he said, would use the parliamentary recess some time in May to tour their constituencies and urge citizens to register as voters in large numbers.
PNU backs the new constitution.
On Tuesday, Mr Kenyatta chose the middle-ground position on the draft constitution.
He indicated that he was cooling off from his strong push for a new law as the “No” campaign group, led by Agriculture minister William Ruto, met on Tues evening to strategise on their drive.
The Deputy Prime Minister, who is also the Finance minister, said there was need for politicians to talk and agree before embarking on national campaigns.
He said the country should not be divided by different opinions as such division led to the post-election violence after the 2007 General Election.
“We do not want Kenyans divided by political and religious opinions. Kenyans are more important than our political and religious positions,” he said after a closed- door meeting of party members.
He hoped that the meetings with religious leaders would help come to a common understanding on the issue.
Should the talks fail, it was better to stay with the current Constitution instead of engaging in divisive debates, which could tear the country apart, he said.
“Constitution making is a matter of life and death. It is not an issue of “Yes” and ‘No’,” he said.
And he promised not to be part of the “Yes”or “No” campaign teams.
“This time round you will not see me traversing the country campaigning for either side. Instead, I will concentrate on development issues,” he said.
He was speaking in Narok after launching the Economic Stimulus Programme.
Mr Kenyatta’s position contradicted his earlier statement in Mwingi on Saturday that he was supporting the draft and that amendments could be done later.
He, however, said that the draft had many positive features that should not be thrown away and that it had taken the longest time in the history of constitution making to come up with such an agreeable draft.
Earlier, Narok South MP Nkoidila ole Lankas led residents in vowing to support the draft.
Mr Lankas, at the same time, criticised those opposing the draft, saying they were doing so to protect their ill-gotten wealth. He accused some people of moving around and telling the Maasai their land would be taken if the draft was passed at the referendum.
“Let us not use lies to defeat the draft,” he pleaded.
Amendment
Elsewhere, the Agano party has accused the government of giving Kenyans the false impression that time cannot be extended for amending the draft constitution.
Party chairman Mwaura Waihiga said the Constitution of Kenya Review Act allowed amendment by a simple majority.
However, the Act is also entrenched in the Constitution, meaning that an extension of time would need a two thirds majority to go through.
This may be a tall order for the MPs as they failed to garner the same threshold during the debate on the constitution in Parliament recently.
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