Coalition for reforms and democracy, Cord party is known for its huge followers and its rallies are always characterised by mammoth crowds.
Whenever the opposition party calls for a rally, one might think that the world is ending.
What has baffled many political analysts and the citizens of Kenya in general is how Cord has failed to turn these mind-boggling numbers into votes!
If politics is all about numbers, why is Raila Odinga, ODM leader and Cord co-principal not in state house going by the number of followers he enjoys in political rallies?
Do these people desert him when ballot papers are presented to them such that they choose not to vote for him?
Well, according to me, I think there are some factors that are making the opposition party not to translate these numbers into votes.
The first and obvious reason why Cord is failing terribly on this is the laxity of its members to drum up support for mass voter registration of voters in their stronghold regions.
And so you find that some of these people who crowd Cord rallies do not even have a voter's card .
Secondly, for Cord to turn these numbers into votes, they need to choose a neutral candidate as a flagbearer.This way, its members will remain United up to the voting day.
Thirdly, Cord should clean its closets and avoid what I can call "in-house" wrangles. The recent announcements by the party vice chairman Paul Otuoma and the party secretary-general Ababu Namwamba that they have resigned from their positions due to wrangles are not healthy for the opposition party.
Cord should iron out its issues amicably and not wash its dirty linen in public.
Lastly, Cord leaders should also take it as their responsibility to sensitize its registered voters on the importance of voting so that they can actually cast their votes come the material day.
It is one thing to register as a voter and acquire a voter's card and it is another thing to turn up at a polling station and cast your vote.