Nairobi — A group of politicians in President Kibaki's Party of National Unity are preparing to launch a parallel Yes secretariat in Nairobi Friday.
The new alliance is made up of technocrats and politicians allied to PNU, ODM-K and Kanu. The 'Green Alliance' is also scheduled to launch its campaigns through rallies in Nyahururu and Nanyuki this weekend. According to minutes of a meeting held on Tuesday, the aim of the alliance is to guard areas that are vulnerable to the 'No' campaign.
Whip supporters
The architects of the new alliance are also concerned that recent opinion polls show that PNU strongholds are largely undecided on whether to support the proposed law.
An opinion poll released last week showed that President Kibaki, Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka and Finance minister Uhuru Kenyatta are among top leaders facing the daunting task of whipping their supporters to endorse the proposed new constitution.
The Tuesday meeting attended by three PNU MPs resolved that the secretariat be launched Friday and announced campaign meetings to be held in 30 regions. The areas targeted are spread across the country and would host the meetings until August 2 when the campaign period ends.
Those at the Tuesday meeting included MPs Nderitu Mureithi, Jeremiah Kioni and George Nyamweya.
Others were technocrats associated with PNU, ODM-K and Kanu including Moses Kuria, Jasper Nyamboga, Henry Robb, Martin Kuria, Njee Muturi, Joseph Maathai and J B Muturi.
Complement operations
At the meeting, there were concerns that the joint 'Yes' secretariat led by Prof Peter Kagwanja and Ms Janet Ongera had failed to "take off forcefully" as expected.
The secretariat's communication director Moses Kuria confirmed the plan to launch the campaign saying that it was meant to complement the operations of the joint ODM-PNU campaigns being led by Prime Minister Raila Odinga and President Kibaki.
"We are going to operate parallel and independently and especially in areas where there is a threat from the 'No' camp. More details will be made public on Friday when we launch the secretariat," said Mr Kuria.
The campaign has also put together a list of regional coordinators mostly made up of MPs allied to PNU. The MPs are said to be contributing to the campaign through a check-off system.
According to the minutes of the Tuesday meeting, the 'Green Alliance' is also to set up structured campaigns targeting women and the youth.
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