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Sunday, November 6, 2011

Raila to tap Diaspora vote



By Isaac Ongiri
Even as politicians seek to galvanise support at home, Prime Minister Raila Odinga has rolled out a programme to tap more than 3.4 million votes in the Diaspora.
This may be tenable since the electoral commission plans to register voters abroad.
Raila’s campaign team, through Friends of Raila (Fora), has set up branches in cities in Europe and the US to mobilise Kenyans abroad to support the PM’s presidential bid.
In Nairobi, the PM has hired John Maina, the former chairman of the Kenya Community Abroad, as an advisor on matters Diaspora.
The PM has set up an office for Maina at the Office of the Prime Minister from where he will be co-ordinating the Diaspora.
"We are not taking the population of Kenyans abroad for granted. We have established bases in key countries abroad to mobilise them and to explain to them why we must support Prime Minister Raila Odinga," said Fora General Secretary, Eliud Owallo. Owallo said though his team is also keen on local campaigns, they would rope in Kenyans abroad to back the Prime Minister.
New laws
"We are not supporting the PM for nothing. We are doing so because he is the only one capable of concluding the implementation of the Constitution. And that is why we are volunteering our services to ensure we get a president who will deliver," Owallo said.
In the UK, Fora has tasked Mr Raymond Gakumu to spearhead the Raila campaign in London and Ireland where Communication expert John Barasa will assist him.
Businessman George Osewe will lead the Kenyan Diaspora in Washington where Fora has opened an office. Clement Nyauke, an IT expert in Washington, would assist him. In Austria, Grace Yoka will be in charge.
Locally, Fora, whose chairman is Kenneth Kinyua Kirimania, has set up an office in Kileleshwa, Nairobi, from where county campaigns are co-ordinated.
Dick Oneko, son of former Cabinet minister Ramogi Ochieng’ Oneko, is the executive director of the outfit, PM sanctioned to manage part of his campaign.
"We are coming to mobilise support for the PM especially in areas where people previously did not support him. We are mobilising resources of our own to ensure our mission is accomplished," Oneko said.
Other top-level members of the PM’s election lobby include Mika Kigen (deputy chairman), Lydia Ntimama (vice-chairman-gender) and Joash Mbulika (vice-chairman) in charge of publicity.
Oneko said the team would move from city to city to campaign for the Raila. He added, locally, the group is setting up offices to reach the grassroots. The Isaack Hassan-led electoral commission has embarked on a plan to profile the Kenyan population abroad before voter registration is rolled out.
Hassan said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has presented the commission with a report detailing the profile of Kenyans and how they are distributed. "We have a report which we will now work with in rolling out voter registration outside Kenya, targeting over three million voters," Hassan said.
He said for the 2012 elections, the registration centres will be set up at the Kenyan embassies and consulates and that those willing to participate in the elections would be required to register. "We are going to enhance our contacts with the Diaspora to sensitise them on the importance of participating in the elections. A few months ago, we sent a team to Washington to meet Kenyans and explain to them what our plans are," he said.
Hassan, however, expressed fears many would be locked out because polling centres would be in embassies. "After 2012, Kenyans abroad will vote online. This will ensure all citizens who register as voters can participate in elections," he added.
Several presidential aspirants have planned trips abroad to market their ambitions and fund raise.
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