Karua Warns Against Backroom Deals In Opposition Candidate Selection

By Elijah Cherutich

People’s Liberation Party (PLP) leader Martha Karua has renewed her call for a scientific method to select a presidential candidate for the united opposition, saying Kenyans should play a central role in determining who can command broad national support.

Karua rejected boardroom politics in the selection process, arguing that the public should be closely involved in identifying a candidate capable of attracting support across the country.

Speaking in Nakuru during the official opening of the Farmers Party county office, Karua said the electorate had a significant influence on the leaders who eventually assumed public office.

“Boardroom will not help get a credible candidate and so we should move away from these backroom engagements”, she said.

Karua also called for tolerance among opposition parties, urging those seeking to join the opposition formation to be accommodated rather than excluded.

She said attempts to block some parties or leaders from the emerging opposition alliance could undermine efforts to build a united political force ahead of the General Election.

Karua said every vote would be important to the opposition movement and pledged to continue welcoming like-minded parties and leaders who were willing to support the formation.

“I want to call on the opposition team not to block anyone from the unity we are forging, we need everybody in our space and so we must consider”, she said.

The PLP leader also criticised what she described as emotional voting by Kenyans in previous elections, saying it had contributed to the election of leaders without sound ideals for advancing the country’s socio-economic agenda.

She urged voters to pay attention to all elective positions, from the presidency to the lowest level, instead of concentrating their scrutiny on the presidential contest alone.

Karua said the quality of leadership at lower levels was equally important in determining how government functions and how public resources are managed.

Prof. Gitile Naituli said the country’s economy had been run down by the current crop of leaders, leaving Kenyans facing difficult economic conditions.

Naituli criticised the government’s plan to import a large consignment of maize from Zambia duty-free, arguing that the move could hurt local farmers by pushing down the price of locally produced maize.

“What the government is doing around our economy is shocking, they want to import maize that will come and take the prices of local maize down, it’s a zero-sum game for our farmers”, he said.

He argued that policies affecting agricultural production should take into account the interests of local farmers and the wider impact on household incomes.

Farmers Party leader Kimani Ngunjiri called for greater attention to the challenges facing farmers across the country, saying strengthening the agricultural sector was critical to food security and economic growth.

Ngunjiri said supporting farmers would help improve food production while creating the foundation for a more vibrant economy.