A former assistant minister has declared his interest to lead the Gusii community as a major step towards persuading the community to vote as a block.
Speaking on Sunday at Magonga village in Nyamira, Kitutu Chache South MP Richard Onyonka said the community was likely to get raw deals in subsequent government if they failed to unite to support one presidential candidate.
Onyonka said he was ready for the task given his vast knowledge in matters governance and his close association to former Gusii de facto leader and Minister Zachary Onyonka.
“Our community has been taken for granted for a long time and time has come for us to change the political trend. We are in need of one leading commandant and I am ready for the job. This is my second term in parliament but I have been in politics for a long since my late father Onyonka Senior departed,” he said.
He urged area leaders to use one political pact to increase their bargaining power in subsequent governments as a way of avoiding split in voting of the estimated 1.5 million voters.
“Our population has grown substantially and we are almost 1.5 million adults. We have to use a single political party to bargain for power because that is the nature of politics and are allowed in advanced democracies. I am ready to lead the team,” Onyonka added.
According to him, the leaders had accepted the offer of forming a single party from the region ahead of 2017 polls.
“We have met and agreed to form a single party. What is important though, is having one commander who speaks on our behalf and I offer my candidature,” he said.
The community has being a swing vote during elections with at least all presidential aspirants managing votes from the region.