Orange party draws up demands ahead of talks with Ruto's UDA

Kakamega Governor and county ODM Chairman Fernandes Barasa leads Delegates in a special sitting ahead of the party leader Oburu Odinga's Sunday visit. (Mumo Munuve, Standard)

The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) top brass is crafting a list of demands it intends to anchor in pre-election negotiations with President William Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance (UDA) as the party intensifies the bid to rally supporters to back the talks.

Both sides are now expected to nominate members who will sit on the joint negotiations committee to hammer out the finer details. That follows the approval of the process by top decision-making organs in UDA and ODM.

The latter’s Central Management Committee met in Kilifi this week and resolved to enter into a pre-election pact with UDA.

UDA’s National Executive Committee also gave its nod when it convened at State House last week to set the ball rolling.

Sources in ODM told The Saturday Standard that the party will demand the deputy presidency slot and the zoning of regions to protect its strongholds. They also want more slots in Cabinet and ambassadorial positions as well as the implementation of key infrastructural programmes in its strongholds.

According to the sources, it will be going for a deal that translates to the strength of the ODM party across the country and will not settle for less. Additionally, the party is also eyeing a bigger stake in the president’s campaign team.

Another source said that the demand for the deputy presidency position is based on the premise that the party will deliver majority of the votes into Ruto’s political basket.

“ODM is a big partner. Some of us want the party to approach the negotiations with neutrality and without specific demands but that cannot happen. The plan is that we go big and that is why we are hoping the talks will land us the deputy presidency slot,” said the source.

This perhaps explains the reason behind an intense jostling for the seat within the party that has already started resurfacing in some regions.

For instance, the party’s members from the Coast are rallying behind Blue Economy Cabinet Secretary Hassan Joho to take up the slot while Nyanza and Western are also running similar calls.

Joho has presented himself as the possible Raila-heir apparent within ODM while at the Coast, he views himself as a potential candidate for the presidency. On the flipside, his allies in the region have even threatened to quit ODM if he is not considered for a bigger slot within the party.

However, it remains to be seen how the President’s circle loyal to the current Deputy President Kithure Kindiki will react to the calls and if it has the ingredients to puncture the union between the grouping.

Questions, also remain on how the push for a deputy presidency will impact ODM party leader Oburu Oginga position within the party.

Recently, Oburu claimed that the party’s constitution indicates that the party leader is the automatic presidential candidate should the party opt to go it alone.

However, with other members also salivating for a deputy presidency slot under the arrangement with President Ruto, some party members believe Oburu is between a rock and a hard place even as plans for formal talks gathers momentum.

“We are also eyeing additional slots in government which is commensurate with our contribution to the stability in government as well as on helping Ruto win a second term,” said another source.

Through this, the party hopes to expand its list of appointments to the Cabinet to 10, alongside a significant number of ambassadorial positions.

Another source privy to the talks also intimated that they have also prioritised zoning as a party to help reduce sibling rivalries between UDA and ODM members across the country.

In Nyanza, for instance, party insiders have prioritised zoning to ensure that the region remains firmly as an ODM base. Observers, however, believe the push is a long shot and might be difficult to implement as a result of the individual interests of some of the politicians who have already started campaigns and are hoping to compete on a UDA ticket or as independents but aligned to Ruto.

Zoning means that UDA will not field candidates in areas considered to be ODM strongholds, with all the UDA-ODM machinery marshalled to back ODM candidates.

On the flipside, the Orange party will also not field a candidate in areas where UDA has stronger candidates and in areas considered its strongholds.

“It will be unfair for UDA to start competing with us in Nyanza, for example, when we know very well that the region is strongly behind ODM,” said an ODM MP.

Strategic and political communications consultant, Barack Muluka, opines that the party should prioritise the presidency.

‘‘Anything less than that is to shoot themselves in the foot,” Dr Muluka says. According to Muluka, one doesn’t negotiate by pitching low.

‘‘Nobody takes you seriously that way.’’

Constitutional lawyer Joshua Nyamori opines that the two parties have realised that they are stronger when they move together.