OKA power-sharing pact revealed as door remains open for Azimio

L-R - Farmers Party leader Irungu Nyakera, Narc Kenya leader Martha Karua, Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka, KANU chairman Gideon Moi and UDP leader Cyrus Jirongo with MDG party leader David Ochieng after signing of the OKA coalition document agreement at Villa Rosa Kempinski on March 11, 2022. [Wilberforce Okwiri, Standard]

The One Kenya Alliance (OKA) will field a presidential candidate in the August 9 elections and use an agreed on formula to share out executive appointments among member parties if the team wins.

The coalition will also share out other top leadership positions in the Legislature and at both national and county government levels equitably.

Only appointments to constitutional offices will be exempted from the coalition agreement that the six-party alliance members signed at the Villa Rosa Kempinski Hotel in Nairobi yesterday.

OKA principals and founders Kalonzo Musyoka (Wiper Democratic Party), Gideon Moi (Kanu), Martha Karua (Narc Kenya) and Cyrus Jirongo (UDP), were joined by two other party leaders; Irungu Nyakera (Farmers Party) and David Ochieng (MDG).

Jimmy Kibaki’s New Democrats party is expected to join the alliance next week.

For the second time, the coalition’s leaders declared that they were ready to go it alone for the presidency should they disagree with Azimio la Umoja in ongoing merger talks.

Kalonzo said the coalition was determined to influence Kenya’s succession politics and that it was ready for negotiations with other like-minded parties and coalitions.

In the event that the talks do not result in a partnership, OKA was ready to field a presidential candidate, who has been designated as the Coalition Party Leader in the agreement.

In the 34-page document, power sharing among the parties will be based on the founder member status, portfolio balance, election performance and equity base.

“The coalition shall field a single presidential candidate in its name,” the agreement says.

“The coalition parties will enter into power-sharing agreements in each of the counties where more than one coalition party is participating in any of the elective seats in accordance with the power sharing principles enshrined herein.”

Selection procedures

Nomination of the presidential candidate and running mate shall be by consensus and in the event that this method does not work, the agreement outlines the selection procedures and guidelines that will be followed with the guidance of the coalition’s top decision making organ, the Pinnacle.

The agreement also provides for how the coalition can be dissolved.

“In the event that the coalition parties do not agree on and/or fail to execute the Power Sharing Agreement before the end of March 2022, then this coalition agreement shall stand terminated and dissolved.”  

Every party in the coalition will field candidates for parliamentary, governor and county assembly seats.

Where with will be need for joint nominations, the pact provides that this will be conducted through various forms of consensus, including electoral pacts negotiated between coalition parties, consensus arrived at by local caucuses or joint coalition party caucuses in counties that opt for this method.

A National Coordinating Committee (NCC) will also be established to provide leadership for the coalition.

It will consist of all secretaries general and executive directors of member parties as well as four other representatives from each party.

Among its responsibilities will be to suspend any member party or ratify any suspension recommended by the coalition’s Dispute Resolution Panel and National Disciplinary Committee.

Other organs will include the National Technical Committee, Secretariat, County Coordinating Committees, Coalition Parliamentary Group and County Assemblies Group.

The OKA coalition agreement is set to be deposited with the Registrar of Political Parties tomorrow.

Kalonzo said that although they were ready to sacrifice for the good of the country, they also said no one was indispensable.

“There is the possibility of one grand coalition but if the others don’t want to engage we are ready to go to the wire. If people are intolerant, don’t have the vision, we are set with the instruments (to go to the ballot) but we are also ready for dialogue,” he said.

“We have made sacrifices before and are ready to make more but Kenyans should know that no one is indispensable… My chest is now clear and Kenyans know that leaders need to be held to account on the documents they sign.”

Demand openness

Kanu chair Gideon Moi was confident that OKA will deliver a leader who will take Kenya to the next level and one who will advance ideals such as zero tolerance for corruption.

He said the coalition’s primary focus was to transform people’s lives.

“Today, we close one chapter of our journey and open another. We know where this journey will culminate but the most important reason for this journey is the people of Kenya.

“We now make a covenant to Kenyans that we will put the people first,” he said.  

Ms Karua said that if OKA was to enter another coalition, it will demand openness and neither will it play second fiddle.

Instead, all parties will go to the negotiating table as equals.

“We also do not want to be told that this and that is already pre-determined. We want equality so that if we cede ground, we cede because it is the thing to do but not with a gun to our head,” she said.

UDP’s Jirongo held that the coalition agreement will likely produce the next president.

“We are in talks with other formations but that does not put a lid on us also going it alone. We are still open and discussing,” Jirongo said. “If they go on well, we will be a bigger team but if they don’t then this is a good representation of Kenya.”