Wiper Democratic Movement leader Kalonzo Musyoka now says his party is also working on a post-election coalition agreement with the ruling Jubilee Party and the Kenya National African Union (Kanu).
Speaking in an interview on Citizen TV Monday morning, Mr Musyoka said that the party is open to the idea.
“Wiper will be ready to enter into a cooperation agreement with both Kanu and Jubilee when that time comes. We are open to that,” Mr Musyoka said.
He added, “Wiper had our national executive council meeting virtually and we agreed that we need to open negotiations and be able to move in that direction.”
Mr Musyoka’s Wiper party is in a coalition agreement with Mr Raila Odinga’s Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), Musalia Mudavadi’s Amani National Congress (ANC) and Moses Wetang’ula’s Ford-Kenya, under the umbrella National Super Alliance (Nasa).
“The only thing we need to look at as we work towards this post-election agreement is the legality, as we already have a coalition agreement with Nasa, and the need to promote national coalition,” Mr Musyoka said.
“As Wiper, we are consulting with our coalition partners ODM, ANC, and Ford-Kenya [to] see what we can do. The country needs to come together at this time in order to unite,” he added.
He rubbished claims that such an agreement will kill the opposition, which has become a pale shadow of its former self, after the March 2018 handshake between President Uhuru Kenyatta and opposition leader Raila Odinga.
“Even as we look at the post Covid-19 situation, we must look to the future and we have to prepare ourselves for it. It will not be a coalition agreement, but mainly a cooperation agreement. We are looking at it. It does not necessarily mean killing the opposition. Far from it,” said Mr Musyoka.
Last week, Kanu signed a post-election agreement with Jubilee, becoming the first party to formalise its agreement with the ruling party, shoring up President Kenyatta’s numbers in both Houses at a time of an increasingly public cold war between him and his deputy William Ruto.
While the pre-election ‘gentleman’s agreement’ allowed Kanu to sit in committees and in the majority side of the House in the National Assembly and the Senate, the post-poll deal now means that Kanu MPs and senators can sit in a Jubilee Party parliamentary group, which will now be called a coalition.
“The post-election coalition shall be purely for purposes of addressing the parliamentary strength of the Jubilee Party in Parliament and or in the county assemblies,” the Jubilee Party constitution states.
The agreement might not do any magic politically, as the two parties have been working together anyway, but the inclusion of Kanu could work to the disadvantage of Dr Ruto’s side, which has been on a warpath to defend the Jubilee Party which was recently in the DPs’ firm grip.
The agreement between the two parties was received by the Registrar of Political Parties Anne Nderitu on May 8.
“This is to certify that Jubilee Party and Kanu, fully registered political parties under the Political Parties Act, 2011, deposited a coalition agreement. Form PP 19 was filed on May 4, 2020 by the chairmen and secretary-generals of the two parties,” said Ms Nderitu.
The deal was signed by Mr Tuju, Jubilee Chairman Nelson Dzuya, Mr Moi and Kanu Secretary-General Nick Salat.
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