Barasa sends tough message to UDA over zoning politics
The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) has asked its United Democratic Alliance (UDA) to stop belittling it and treat the coming talks as an equal opportunity for both parties.
The ODM leadership has also criticised the manner in which the UDA party is handling the whole broad-based government agenda, whereas it has placed itself as being the deciding party in matters affecting the two parties.
The Kakamega County ODM party chairman, Fernandez Barasa, has instead called on the UDA leadership to consider ODM as an equal partner as far as the formation of the 2027 coalition government is concerned.
Barasa, who is also the Kakamega governor seeking his second term in office, said ODM was willing to partner with UDA to see President William Ruto clinch his last term in office, but it should be treated as an equal if it has to support and gain in the 2027 polls.
ODM is perturbed by the recent unfolding where a section of UDA party members have been mishandling ODM affairs, painting it as an underdog in the broad-based merger as the next election, which is only 16 months away, nears.
He was speaking at Bukhungu Stadium during the grant issuance of a Ksh12 million cheque to County Youth Service and Women Empowerment Programme, which saw 3,000 of them complete their two-year contract.
The ODM county chairman further called on the UDA side to stop its political arm-twisting and mimicry directed towards the ongoing ODM wrangles, noting that the party was just trying to settle on a level playing ground before it can present itself wholly.
“Please, I call on our UDA partners to stop the ongoing political bickering directed at ODM and also the friendly fire, and instead come together to fight our common enemy, which is corruption, tribal wars, hunger and poverty that is affecting our people.
We are not enemies, but we are being fought by our political nemesis to ensure that the planned coalition does not materialise, and you seem to be encouraging that rather than condemning it.
Mark you, UDA stands to lose a lot if it fails to embrace us (ODM), since we are the largest political outfit in the country. Let no side feel more superior than the other, for we all need each other to ascend to the top,” he paused.
The chairman called for calm within the country to give the President and other leaders ample time to deliver to their electorates, blasting the ongoing political wars from the opposition directed at the President as meant to derail his focus and cripple development.
Barasa confirmed that Kakamega County ODM support was solid and unshaken; hence, he was optimistic of trouncing his opponents in 2027.
He sent a strong message to his political rivals to brace themselves for a grand battle, as he was prepared to face off with all of them and send them scampering for political cover after the poll results.
With the same breath, he called on his supporters to mobilise more young people to register for identification cards to enable them to cast their vote next year in his favour and that of President William Ruto.
“We are targeting 200,000 new voters in the remaining ten days, and we should marshal our loyalists to ensure we achieve this, as this will be our additional votes to send our opponents home,” he said.
