Kitutu Chache South MP Richard Onyonka says it does not matter which party an elected leader is affiliated to, as long as he or she has policies that can promote development.
His sentiments come at a time when he is facing hostility from his ODM party, with a section of the party leaders accusing him of trading with the government.
Speaking in Mosocho on Tuesday, Onyonka urged residents to slam ‘baseless party’ politics which he said had no room in the modern society.
“I have been in politics for a while and I want to challenge you that don’t allow to be pulled to party politics. What matters is electing individuals with good policies and manifestos that could help the society progress. Party politics are baseless and cannot be tolerated in the modern society,” he said.
Onyonka said the country was struggling to make progress in development since people had been divided along political lines, with members of certain political parties forced to support certain policies that they opposed.
“The reason why in Kenya we are struggling to make an impact in development is because someone is born and forced to support a certain party because the family supports it. We should elect individuals and not political parties. It doesn’t matter which party someone contests from,” he said.
He challenged the Gusii community to be liberal during voting and urged other regions to emulate them to choose good leaders.
“I discourage that old method of going for six pieces. That you elect people from only the party you belong. We ought to be liberal and analyze all candidates. Other regions should emulate us because in Kisii, we rarely elect people based on their political parties that they support,” he said.