Chama Cha Mashinani (CCM) party leader Isaac Rutto has been the latest leader to weigh-in on the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party's latest woes.
The party is yet to recover from its recent defeat in the Ugenya and Embakasi South by-elections after its candidates were floored.
Speaking on Monday, the former Bomet governor welcomed ODM's defeat, especially in Ugenya which is within Siaya, ODM leader Raila Odinga's home county.
He said that small parties should also be allowed to participate and even win elections in all parts of the county, in reference to Ugenya MP-elect David Ochieng's Movement for Democracy and Growth (MDG) party.
"The case of Ugenya is welcome. No region or zone should be left for a particular party. Even small parties should be able to win seats in areas perceived to belong to others,” he said as quoted by the Daily Nation.
He urged the Orange party not to trample on small and emerging parties in Nyanza region, noting that the presence of only one bloc would prevent development in the area.
“It is important for ODM to allow smaller parties to thrive in Nyanza. It risks becoming moonless in the area because too much interest would deter development," he added.
The former county boss was the fifth principal in Raila's National Super Alliance (NASA) coalition on whose ticket he unsuccessfully sought the presidency in the 2017 elections.