Signatories to the Azimio la Umoja-One Kenya party will be compelled to remain in the coalition for at least one year after registration of the agreement, giving their presidential hopeful Raila Odinga sufficient room to organise the government if he wins the election in August.
The Azimio coalition agreement seen by the Saturday Nation has locked in its members to ensure none will leave for at least a year after registration.
It means Mr Odinga, Jubilee party leader President Uhuru Kenyatta and the Wiper party boss Kalonzo Musyoka are tied at the hip for about a year from today, when by law the agreements are supposed to be filed with the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties.
The deal also provides that only the presidential candidate and his running mate will run on the Azimio coalition party ticket, while the rest will contest on the respective constituent party platforms.
According to the document filed with the Registrar, President Kenyatta, ODM leader and presidential hopeful Odinga and Mr Musyoka agreed that no party would bolt from the coalition at least six months to the August 9 General Election.
A coalition party member that intends to exit will only do so at least three months after the elections, the document states.
90-day notice
Even then, a member who wishes to leave can only do so after giving a 90-day notice to the Coalition Council, which will be the second-highest organ of the coalition party.
“No party may withdraw from the coalition six months before the August 2022 General Election or within three months after the date of the said General Election,” the agreement states in Article 22 under the heading ‘Withdrawal of Parties’.
The deal was signed by President Kenyatta, Mr Odinga and Mr Musyoka, representing Jubilee and its affiliates of more than 15 parties, ODM and One Kenya Alliance respectively.
According to a timeline of activities published by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), coalitions wishing to take part in the August 9 General Election must be registered by today, the same day that parties would also be submitting their membership and aspirant lists to the commission.
The provisions on withdrawal from the deal could diminish the demands from Azimio member parties that are coalescing around the Mwanzo Mpya group, led by Machakos Governor Alfred Mutua, who were demanding a renegotiation of the deal.
They were uncomfortable with the proposal for zoning the country, which they felt would disadvantage smaller parties.
In addition, they claim to have been ignored in crafting the coalition agreement.
But a meeting with Mr Odinga on Thursday seems to have calmed tensions, as the presidential candidate assured them there would be no zoning.
Azimio agreement
Unlike the defunct National Super Alliance (Nasa) that required at least three constituent members to write to the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties to initiate the folding of the coalition, the Azimio agreement provides that a constituent party only needs to give a notice of 90 days.
With zoning out of the way, only Mr Odinga and his running mate will be contesting on the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya party ticket, while the rest of the candidates from various seats will run on respective party tickets.
In registering the coalition, the parties making up Azimio la Umoja-One Kenya are required to fill and return to ORPP Form PP19 for the formation of pre-election/post-election coalitions.
The coalition Deed of Agreement and resolutions by the National Executive Committees and National Delegates Conferences should be attached to the form.
In addition, the Azimio team is also submitting two documents namely the Declaration of Support for Mr Odinga and a Power-Sharing Matrix.
The Declaration of Support is the one that is being signed by all parties supporting Mr Odinga.
The Power-sharing matrix remains under lock and key, though the Saturday Nation has learnt that the three caucuses namely Jubilee, OKA and ODM will each get a third of the national government shareable positions – cabinet secretaries, principal secretaries, diplomatic positions and state corporations.
Every caucus will then distribute the available positions among its members.
A reported secret deal between the group of mainly Ukambani county governors coalescing around the Mwanzo Mpya alliance and ODM leader Raila Odinga, which would have seen the Azimio agreement that had been submitted to the Office of Registrar of Political Parties recalled and amended to include the Mwanzo Mpya group as the fourth leg of Azimio la Umoja One Kenya, yesterday reportedly jolted the coalition just hours before the registration deadline.
Wiper threatened to withdraw
There was a last-minute rush to forestall a collapse of Azimio la Umoja-One Kenya, after the OKA led by the Wiper threatened to withdraw from the coalition.
“There are things that some people wanted to sneak in. They want parties to join as individuals and we have refused. The agreement that was signed by the three principals is for a three-legged stool and we cannot agree to any such amendments. That is the contention,” an OKA source told the Saturday Nation.
Newly appointed Azimio Executive Director, Raphael Tuju, however, said negotiations among members had thrashed out the differences.
“I spoke to Kalonzo Musyoka less than 20 minutes ago and I can assure you that we’re in agreement with regard to the document we’re filing tomorrow with the Registrar of Political Parties,” Mr Tuju said last evening.
The position of the running mate, however, remains unresolved though Mr Musyoka and his OKA colleagues have made it clear that they are going for it.
“The running mate issue has not been settled yet but there are factors that the Coalition Council will consider. The same way we have engaged in agreeing on a coalition agreement is the same way we will engage in deciding the running mate slot,” OKA spokesman Fred Okang’o said.
“Whatever parameter will be used, we believe OKA qualifies and we wish that Mr Musyoka be the candidate. But the coalition council will guide us.”
Mt Kenya, which is President Kenyatta’s backyard, is also hoping to get the position.
Meanwhile, according to the agreement, Azimio will have eight established organs – the Party Leader and Deputy Party leader, the Coalition Council, the National Executive Committee, and the National Secretariat headed by an Executive Director.
Other organs are the Coalition Parliamentary Group, the County Coalition Caucus, the National Disciplinary Committee and the Dispute Resolution Panel.
Former Jubilee Secretary General Tuju has been appointed to be the Executive Director.
Policy direction
According to the agreement, the Council will be charged with the governance of the coalition party and “give policy direction for the coalition”.
President Kenyatta is primed to be the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya party leader and will be deputised by one other principal.
At the same time, in constituting the Coalition Council, President Kenyatta, Mr Odinga and Mr Musyoka will nominate two persons each.
As party leader, the President will sit in the council which will be the political leadership organ of the coalition.
“The Coalition Council shall be convened and chaired by the Coalition Party leader, or in the absence or inability of the Coalition Party leader, the Coalition Deputy Party Leader, in consultation with the Coalition council,” the agreement states.
The Coalition Party leader will also convene and preside over meetings of the coalition parliamentary and County Assembly group, making the party leader a force to be reckoned with in the management of Azimio affairs.
Resolutions of the coalition will be by consensus or simple majority, the agreement states.
Members of Azimio say the coalition will be anchored in five pillars of Utu (humanity), Undugu (comradeship and fellowship), Usawa (equality and equity), Umoja (unity), and Uzalishaji (technological innovation, economic investment and job creation).
The agreement is, however, silent on political party funds BY DAILY NATION