President Uhuru Kenyatta has followed in the footsteps of opposition leader Raila Odinga after he summoned 16,000 aspirants seeking to run on Jubilee Party ticket for a strategy meeting in Nairobi at the Kasarani gymnasium on Friday.
Odinga held a meeting with over 15,000 aspirants vying on CORD affiliated parties on Wednesday at the Bomas of Kenya.
“We have invited aspirants running for governorship, Senate, National Assembly, county women representative and county assemblies,” said head of Kenyatta`s campaign secretariat Raphael Tuju.
He said only 16,000 party members who have expressed interest in contesting for various positions would be allowed at the venue and that they must show proof of payment.
“We are discouraging jokers from attending the meeting. We only want genuine aspirants to attend,” he said.
He also explained that a mass membership drive that is technology-driven will be launched by the President and then spread to the rest of the country.
Deputy president William Ruto advised those who will be defeated during the nominations to stick with the party and support the winners for the sake of unity.
“I want to ask all those who will lose during the nominations to support the winners so that the party retain the seats,” said Ruto.
He encouraged the leaders to try and reach a consensus on how to fight for the seats.
“I want you to come up with candidates, even through consensus, where you amicably agree and share the various seats in Nairobi County and which must reflect the wishes of all the communities in the city,” he said.
Tuju said the party is targeting to register up to five million members and that the exercise will be managed by interim offices countrywide
“The law doesn’t allow parties to allow non-members to participate in their primaries. If they do so, their primaries may be challenged,” warned Lucy Ndung’u the registrar of political parties adding that once parties submit their lists to the Registrar of Political Parties, no other members would be enrolled until after the primaries.
President Uhuru Kenyatta. He has followed in the footsteps of opposition leader Raila Odinga after he summoned 16,000 aspirants seeking to run on Jubilee Party ticket for a strategy meeting in Nairobi at the Kasarani gymnasium on Friday.