Opposition leader Raila Odinga is facing a looming hard task coordinating his Luo Nyanza bedrock ahead of the 2022 general polls.
One of the counties promising to test his leadership will be the lakeside Homa Bay county where a number of his allies are expected to face off each other for the gubernatorial seat.
Some of the leaders expected to join the race to succeed Governor Cyprian Awiti include area Woman Representative Gladys Wanga and Homa Bay Township lawmaker Peter Kaluma.
The other is Suba South lawmaker and Raila's Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) chair John Mbadi, another close ally of the former Prime Minister.
And all being close to him, each will be expecting his unwavering endorsement, pushing him to decide on who of them to back ahead of the primaries.
Should he remain silent, then he will appear as a weak leader who has no vision for failing to choose the right person for the region.
On the other hand, picking one might result in rebellion from the others who also feel that they are entitled to his backing.
Besides this is the issue of primaries, the party is known to be chaotic, most of its primaries ending up in fights and violence.
He will have to do his best to ensure the party conducts proper nominations, failure to which a weaker candidate might be the one emerging with the ticket.
If this happens, then the party could lose the seat in the instance that the rightful candidate vies independently and wins the seat.
Also, the shambolic nominations might once again subject the former Prime Minister to bashings from his rivals, especially if he will go for the presidential seat again.
They will easily argue that he cannot preside over peaceful nominations on a lower party level and cannot, therefore, coordinate an entire nation with over 45 million people.
For those reasons, the race could make the veteran politician lose friends who are also very influential.
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