Deputy Prime Minister and Local Government Minister Musalia Mudavadi has allayed fears that his quest for the ODM presidential party ticket would break the Orange party into two factions led by Prime Minister Raila Odinga and himself.

 

Mudavadi assured party members and all doubting Thomases that his candidature for the party ticket against party Raila Odinga would leave the party stronger than ever before because whoever won the ticket would support the other against other contenders for the presidency.

 

"There is no rivalry or bad blood between myself and Raila. My candidature for the party ticket shows how democratic we in the Orange party are and whoever clinches the party ticket will support the other whole-heartedly during the presidential elections,” the deputy prime minister told ODM delegates at  Lamu for during a tour of the area.

He told his detractors not to interpret his candidature for the ODM presidential ticket as a plot to undermine his party leader adding that he was merely expressing his democratic right of seeking leadership through established party mechanisms.

“If Raila clinches the ODM presidential candidature, I will embrace him and campaign vigorously for him and I also expect him to do the same if I’m endorsed by members as the party flag bearer,” said the local government minister.

Mudavadi, who was accompanied by key allies Hamisi MP George Khaniri and Justus Kizito of Shinyalu said the Orange party should live up to its expectation of being the most democratic party in the country by taking its candidature for the party ticket in good faith.

The DPM urged Kenyans to elect reformists as president during the forthcoming general election and cautioned them against voting for former opponents of the new constitutional dispensation and those who joined the bandwagon last minute earning themselves the tag of water melons from the media.

“These two categories of leaders (non proponents and water melons) should not be allowed anywhere near the country’s leadership as they will sabotage the law especially the devolved government system which empowers rural communities and gives affirmative action to hitherto marginalized groups and communities,” said Mudavadi.

The DPM further assured Kenyans that key bills to operationalise the devolved government system had been lined up and would be tabled in parliament as soon as it re-opened.

 

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