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Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has accused some of his opposition colleagues of failing to commit publicly to backing a single presidential candidate ahead of the next General Election.
Gachagua, who leads the Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP), said several opposition leaders had yet to make a clear pledge to support whoever emerges as the joint opposition candidate. He was speaking to Kenyans living in Dallas, Texas.
“I want to tell you, from where I sit, I may not talk for other people, because some people let you down. Me as Riggy G, I want to give you my commitment, that if it is not me, I will support whoever will be picked as a presidential candidate,” said Gachagua.
He challenged other presidential aspirants to make the same declaration and give their supporters clear direction.
“I have repeatedly challenged my brothers and sisters to also give us such commitment publicly to the people of Kenya. They should not just pronounce they will support a candidate. Add the sentence that we shall agree on a single presidential candidate. That in case it will not be me, I will support whoever will be picked,” noted Gachagua.
Such a pledge, he said, would hold leaders accountable if they later abandoned the agreement.
“So that if you go against, the people will come for you. Some are a bit slippery, thus why I have little doubt,” explained Gachagua.
The DCP leader also criticised remarks by supporters of some opposition politicians suggesting they would back President William Ruto if their preferred candidate lost out on the opposition ticket. He urged aspiring leaders to discourage their supporters from making such statements.
“I also want to ask those who want to be president to tell their supporters to stop issuing some statements I have been hearing, ‘Oh, kama si fulani, basi tutapigia Ruto.’ ‘Fulani, Fulani ndiye the sixth, kama si yeye wacha twende kwa Ruto.’ That kind of talk is retrogressive,” said Gachagua.
He argued that such statements cast doubt on the sincerity of those pushing for a united opposition.
“That rider that if it is not our candidate then it is Ruto, then I don’t think you are genuine that we should get a single presidential candidate,” observed Gachagua.
Gachagua said his own supporters had not made similar conditional statements and called on his colleagues in the united opposition to give their supporters clear direction.
“I am asking my colleagues in the united opposition to give clear direction to their supporters to also pronounce themselves that they will support whoever will be agreed on,” he added.
The DCP leader also expressed confidence in the country’s election procedures, ruling out vote manipulation under the current system. He contrasted the present arrangement with the previous one, when officials transported ballots from polling stations to county headquarters for counting.
“When elections used to be held in polling stations and ballot boxes transported to the county headquarters to be counted, that is when election results were tampered with,” said Gachagua.
He said counting votes at polling stations makes manipulation harder, adding that courts have settled the finality of results declared at different electoral levels.
“The Supreme Court pronounced in 2013 that polling station results are final. This week there was a landmark ruling that results at the constituency level are final and nobody can change them,” Gachagua noted
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Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has accused some of his
opposition colleagues
of failing to commit publicly to backing a single presidential candidate ahead of the next General Election.
Gachagua, who leads the Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP), said several opposition leaders had yet to make a clear pledge to support whoever emerges as the joint opposition candidate. He was speaking to Kenyans living in Dallas, Texas.
“I want to tell you, from where I sit, I may not talk for other people, because some people let you down. Me as Riggy G, I want to give you my commitment, that if it is not me, I will support whoever will be picked as a presidential candidate,” said Gachagua.
He challenged other presidential aspirants to make the same declaration and give their supporters clear direction.
“I have repeatedly challenged my brothers and sisters to also give us such commitment publicly to the people of Kenya. They should not just pronounce they will support a candidate. Add the sentence that we shall agree on
a single presidential candidate
. That in case it will not be me, I will support whoever will be picked,” noted Gachagua.
Such a pledge, he said, would hold leaders accountable if they later abandoned the agreement.
“So that if you go against, the people will come for you. Some are a bit slippery, thus why I have little doubt,” explained Gachagua.
The DCP leader also criticised remarks by supporters of some opposition politicians suggesting they would back President William Ruto if their preferred candidate lost out on the opposition ticket. He urged aspiring leaders to discourage their supporters from making such statements.
“I also want to ask those who want to be president to tell
their supporters
to stop issuing some statements I have been hearing, ‘Oh, kama si fulani, basi tutapigia Ruto.’ ‘Fulani, Fulani ndiye the sixth, kama si yeye wacha twende kwa Ruto.’ That kind of talk is retrogressive,” said Gachagua.
He argued that such statements cast doubt on the sincerity of those pushing for a united opposition.
“That rider that if it is not our candidate then it is Ruto, then I don’t think you are genuine that we should get a single presidential candidate,” observed Gachagua.
Gachagua said his own supporters had not made similar conditional statements and called on his colleagues in the united opposition to give their supporters clear direction.
“I am asking my colleagues in the united opposition to give clear direction to their supporters to also pronounce themselves that they will support whoever will be agreed on,” he added.
The DCP leader also expressed confidence in the country’s election procedures, ruling out vote manipulation under the current system. He contrasted the present arrangement with the previous one, when officials transported ballots from polling stations to county headquarters for counting.
“When elections used to be held in polling stations and ballot boxes transported to the county headquarters to be counted, that is when election results were tampered with,” said Gachagua.
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He said counting votes at polling stations makes manipulation harder, adding that courts have settled the finality of results declared at different electoral levels.
“The Supreme Court pronounced in 2013 that polling station results are final. This week there was a landmark ruling that results at the constituency level are final and nobody can change them,” Gachagua noted
By Mike Kihaki