Sunday, February 24, 2013

Coalitions in tough race to bag Rift votes


By Steve Mkawale
KENYA: Residents of South and Central Rift will have to make very hard choice as presidential frontrunners Raila Odinga and Uhuru Kenyatta scramble for the regions’ 2.7 million votes.
The South Rift region that has 900,975 registered voters is home to the Kipsigis sub-tribe of the Kalenjin.
Three major political parties — URP, ODM and Kanu — will compete for votes in 11 constituencies that fall under the counties of Kericho and Bomet.
With hardly a week to the election day, Raila Odinga of CORD and Uhuru of the Jubilee alliance have focused their attention on the region.
In their campaign trails, the two leaders have promised to address historical injustices on land that include the plight of people who were uprooted from their homes during the planting of the tea plantations, and the Mau Forest evictees.
“CORD is best placed to address land injustices not only in Kericho County but across the country if elected,” said Raila during his campaign meetings.
He defended himself against the allegation that he sanctioned the eviction of families from the Mau Forest, saying the Cabinet made the decision.
The region was one of those worst hit by the 2007 post-election violence. Reconciliation has also been a key agenda in the campaigns.  
Uhuru and his running mate William Ruto have made it clear to voters in the region that they came together to seek peace between the Kikuyu and Kalenjin communities.
They claim to have succeeded in reconciling all tribes in the cosmopolitan districts like Kipkelion, Londiani and the communities bordering the county.
“We came together for the sake of peace and our union has managed to reconcile and bring peace to all communities living in the Rift Valley,” Uhuru said during a rally in Kericho.
The political fallout between Raila and Ruto is another factor that will influence the voting pattern in the South Rift region.
For many years, the Kipsigis community rallied behind Kanu in successive elections but in 2007, the community voted for ODM and its presidential contender Raila, returning all eight of its MPs on the Orange ticket.
Cabinet slots
But things did not work well immediately after the appointment of the ODM members in the Coalition Government Cabinet. Some of the MP from the Kipsigis disapproved the appointment of three Nandis – all from the North Rift, whereas the majority Kipsigis who gave ODM close to 1.2 million votes ended up with only one Cabinet slot.
MPs from the region took Raila head-on, accusing him of having short-changed them in Cabinet appointments.
The case at the International Criminal Court (ICC) against four Kenyans charged with crime against humanity will also be another factor in the March elections.
Uhuru and Ruto are among the four suspects, and their indictment has been the subject of debate during political rallies. Although URP claims an upper hand as far as popularity inside Kipsigis land is concerned, ODM and Kanu have been making substantive inroads in the region.
The battle for political supremacy in the region and the neighboring Central Rift that has a total of 903,778 registered voters will be fought in four prongs, namely URP, TNA, Kanu and ODM. Former minister Nicholas Biwott’s Vision Party of Kenya could share the spoils and succeed in winning some seats.
Uhuru’s TNA will be the party to beat in Nakuru County where it is expected to bag at least seven of the 11 constituencies while URP is expected to perform well in three.
The party enjoys enormous support in Nakuru Town East, Naivasha, Gilgil, Molo, Njoro, Subukia and Bahati. Nakuru Town West is up for grabs as ODM, URP and TNA candidates will measure their strength in one of the newly created constituencies. URP is expected to perform well in Rongai, Kuresoi East and West constituencies within Nakuru County.
Kanu, URP and ODM have equal chances in Baringo County where insecurity caused by cattle rustling is the main agenda.
The race for political supremacy in Nakuru County that also falls under the Central Rift region will be between TNA and ODM.
The better management of resources from Maasai Mara Game Reserve, land and ethnic conflicts between indigenous communities and outsiders are key campaign issues in the region.



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