NASA team. Photo www.standardmedia.co.ke
Two Wiper aspirants for the Mombasa governor’s seat have defied their party leader's, Mr Kalonzo Musyoka, call to unite.The differences between Senator Hassan Omar and Nyali MP Hezron Awiti highlight the headache that top political leaders face in the run-up to the August election.Both Mr Omar and Mr Awiti vowed to meet at the nominations, a move that the Opposition party fears can lead to internal wrangles that could affect its fortunes come election time.Mr Awiti, while closing any door to negotiations, said he was not willing to deputize anybody.The dilemma within Wiper is indicative of the bigger tussle within the opposition Coalition Nasa, of which Musyoka’s party is a part.Even if Wiper is to agree on a candidate for governor, such a person will also have to face off with Governor Joho of ODM, which is also part of the Nasa coalition.Incidentally, the leaders of the four parties in Nasa — Mr Raila Odinga of ODM, Mr Musalia Mudavadi of Amani National Congress, Mr Moses Wetang’ula of Ford-Kenya and Mr Musyoka — signed a pact to face the governing Jubilee as one.However, the Wednesday meeting did not come up with concrete nomination rules.The coalition is also yet to pick its presidential candidate.The biggest challenge that both Nasa and Jubilee face is to ensure that any fallouts following nominations will not affect their chances in the General Election.Already, Jubilee has indicated that it will contract the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to conduct its nominations.Talks on how to do this are expected to start on Tuesday.Nasa has, on the other hand, ruled out such a possibility.