MPs urge parties backing Uhuru to merge

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Two MPs including Igembe South MP Mithika Linturi have urged parties supporting Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta’s presidential bid to merge ahead of the next General Election August 9, 2012. FILE 

By LUCAS BARASA lbarassa@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted  Thursday, August 9  2012 at  13:57

Two MPs have urged parties supporting Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta’s presidential bid to merge ahead of the next General Election.

Agriculture assistant minister Kareke Mbiuki and Igembe South MP Mithika Linturi said Thursday the parties should merge into one outfit before the end of August to make it easy for Mr Kenyatta to ascend to the presidency.

Addressing journalists at Parliament Buildings, a day after three political parties signed an agreement to support Mr Kenyatta’s bid, Mr Mbiuki and Mr Linturi said the parties should go further and dissolve “and come up with a structured unified party".

“The parties should merge and come with one umbrella party like in 2002 when Narc was born. All of us should be subjected to nominations, even presidential candidates. Mr Kenyatta is willing to support the victor in the umbrella party,” Mr Mbiuki said.

“We should face the elections as one political party. We should have one slogan and one colour to avoid confusion on the ground.

"The parties should merge before the planned joint political rallies..We need to swallow our pride otherwise the talk shows and photo sessions in hotels in Nairobi will go nowhere,” he stated.

On Wednesday, Mr Kenyatta won the backing of Party of National Unity, the Alliance Party of Kenya and the Grand National Union.

Transport Minister Amos Kimunya, assistant minister Mwangi Kiunjuri of GNU and Energy minister Kiraitu Murungi (APK) signed the pact with Mr Kenyatta’s TNA..

The agreement, however, did not mean that PNU, GNU and APK will not field candidates for other seats.

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On Thursday, Mr Mbiuki and Mr Linturi insisted that the parties should unite and field joint candidates for all elective positions to form a formidable force ahead of the March 4, 2013 elections.

The legislators said TNA, PNU, APK and GNU perceive the Mt Kenya region as their strongholds, the move to support Mr Kenyatta was good “as even winning more votes for a candidate is crucial.”

The two MPs further urged Mr Kenyatta to reach out to deputy Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi, Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka, Eldoret North MP William Ruto, Justice minister Eugene Wamalwa and Lugari MP Cyrus Jirongo with a view to holding joint presidential nominations “and win the elections in first round".

“Mr Kenyatta has the responsibility of reaching out to other G7 leaders and agree on a structured way of approaching the upcoming election to win in first round,” Mr Mbiuki said.

Mr Linturi said the unity among the leaders should be based on ideology and not with the aim of stopping one person from becoming president.

“We should not just bring people together to defeat a particular candidate. We should base our unity on ideology and address problems facing Kenyans. We want issue based politics,” Mr Linturi said.