Poll gives impetus to Wetang’ula’s political bid

The Ipsos opinion poll rating that placed Ford-Kenya party leader Moses Wetang’ula at 18 per cent has sparked excitement among his western Kenya supporters.

This has raised questions over who between he and Amani National Congress’ (ANC) Musalia Mudavadi should carry the region’s presidential mantle in 2017.

Within the Ford-Kenya fraternity, the rating of the Bungoma Senator and Senate Minority Leader is the highest approval of an aspiring Luhya presidential candidate since the introduction of multi-party politics in 1992, which puts him ahead as the region’s front-runner.

But ANC Secretary General Godfrey Osotsi dismisses the polls and questions who initiates and finances them.

“We cannot make judgement on unsolicited polls and on this one we are not going to be distracted. In the recent United Kingdom elections for example, opinion polls were way off the mark. It also happened in the Israel elections and Kenya may be no exception,” added Osotsi.

By virtue of his Senate position, Mr Wetang’ula,  a co-principal in the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD) together with Raila Odinga and Kalonzo Musyoka, is the most  senior elected politician from Western. Mudavadi,  a former Deputy Prime Minister, does not currently hold an elective position, but has declared interest to vie for the presidency in 2017.

According to the Ipsos poll that was released on Wednesday, public confidence in President Uhuru Kenyatta has dramatically declined to 48 per cent, down from 67 per cent in December and a high of 71 per cent in October last year. His Deputy William Ruto’s ratings have also tumbled to 35 per cent from 63 per cent in December last year.  Odinga polled 29 per cent while Wetang’ula and Wiper leader Musyoka tied at 18 per cent.

Kiminini MP Chris Wamalwa says Wetang’ula has remained actively engaged in key political issues and the ratings could be a true reflection of his sustained efforts to emerge as the region’s political supremo. He also leads a strong national party with 11 MPs, five senators and 86 MCAs.

“Figures do not lie. Wetang’ula who was recently rated the third best Senator, was previously rated the best debater in Senate and now has the highest ever approval rating. It shows he is the leader to be supported by others from his region and CORD for the presidency,” noted Dr Wamalwa who is the Opposition Deputy whip in Parliament.

Mudavadi recently questioned the accuracy of some opinion polls, and said their source of funding and methodology was unknown.

While congratulating the UK Prime Minister David Cameron for winning elections, the ANC leader said opinion polls with links to global sources of funding have proved suspect in recent times and their intentions are questionable.

With Wetang’ula and Mudavadi being the most visible presidential aspirants from the region, a cross section of leaders have been calling for negotiations that would see one of them vie for the post.

Even those who had dismissed the region’s chances in the 2017 presidential race like Kakamega County Governor Wycliffe Oparanya, are now supporting calls for a Luhya candidate.

Wetang’ula’s Ford-Kenya party endorsed his presidential bid during a National Executive Committee meeting in Naivasha.

The senator is expected to battle it out with the ODM leader and the Wiper leader for the CORD presidential ticket in joint nominations. Ford-Kenya stalwarts maintain that if CORD picks Wetang’ula, then the western Kenya region would most likely rally behind him.

Osotsi says Mudavadi’s presidential candidature in 2017 was a foregone conclusion, and that the party feels regional negotiations of any kind would be a waste of time and resources.

He argues that Mudavadi will be running as a national candidate and not a western Kenya candidate.

“In the 2013 elections central Kenya had fielded four presidential candidates but the region voted for one. Western can also have more candidates in 2017 and voters will choose the strongest,” the ANC Secretary General says.