G7 PLAN POLL TO PICK ONE CANDIDATE

Monday, 12 September 2011 00:04 BY MATHEWS NDANYI

WHICH ONE?:(From L) Wamalwa, Ruto, Kalonzo, Uhuru and Mwakwere at Norfolk after a breakfast meeting.

Presidential aspirants under the G7 group have agreed to commission a survey to help them identify who among them is best placed to face off with Prime Minister Raila Odinga in the 2012 polls. The private survey was among the issues agreed at the meeting which the group held in Nairobi two weeks ago.
Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka, Eldoret North MP William Ruto, Deputy PM Uhuru Kenyatta and Saboti MP Eugene Wamalwa are the candidates to be surveyed by a private firm which they will endorse.
Sources within the group said they had initially agreed to run for the presidency separately but they now want to identify one candidate whom they will back. The survey will also be used to determine the best running mate for the presidential candidate. Cherangany MP Joshua Kuttuny refused to comment on the proposed survey saying he did not attend the G7 leaders' meeting.
However, he said they are putting in place all strategies to win the 2012 polls. “For me, I think Ruto is the best candidate but we are working as a team and we will eventually come up with a formula to have one of us in State House”, said Kuttuny. Some of the G7 leaders have rubbished opinion polls carried out by Strategic PR and Infotrak, arguing that the results are skewed to favour some individuals.
The G7 will use the survey to identify possible voting patterns in various regions during the elections expected anytime from the second Tuesday of August next year. The G7 leaders also discussed the possible effect of the ICC cases on Ruto and Uhuru. They agreed that they should have a strategic plan through which they will ensure one of them (G7) becomes President.
Both Uhuru and Ruto have expressed confidence that they will be cleared by ICC so that they participate in the polls but they are not ruling out other possible political scenarios during the elections. “The primary objective is for them to win the polls and they know it. That is why they have agreed to use all possible strategies to win. If they don’t consider all options and agree on the best way forward, they will lose the polls separately or together,” said another MP allied to Uhuru.
Dudjis MP Adab Duale says they are confident of winning the polls and what remains for them is to put in place the strategies they will use to ensure a clear win. Eldoret South MP Peris Simam believes Ruto will emerge the strongest candidate for the group but says they will stand together under whichever strategy to win the 2012 polls.
Sources indicated the presidential aspirants candidly discussed the participation of each of them in the polls. During the meeting held before Ruto travelled to the Hague, three professionals were called in to give their opinion on the best way forward. Two of the professionals advised the group to either go it separately or field Musyoka as presidential candidate and Eugene as running mate. The professionals argued that majority of Kenyans may not be willing to back a Kalenjin or a Kikuyu president because the two communities have already produced the first three presidents.
However Uhuru and Ruto argued that they too can win the presidency and that is why they then agreed to have a private firm carry out the survey which will help to determine the most popular among them for the presidential race. Kangundo MP Jonstonne Muthama is among those strongly backing Kalonzo’s candidacy and he briefly attended the meeting in Nairobi where he advised the G7 to tread carefully so that they do not play into the hands of their rivals.
Speaking in Eldoret at the weekend, former minister GG Kariuki said both the Kikuyu and Kalenjin should consider backing a candidate from outside their communities. “They should have been thinking on who else can be a good leader but since they still want it it’s important that we consider the capacity of all those interested,” said Kariuki, arguing that Kenya needs "a national leader".