Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka has officially dropped his presidential run and rejoined Azimio la Umoja ahead of Kenya’s August polls.
He also promised to rally his supporters behind ODM leader and Azimio presidential aspirant Raila Odinga.
Mr Musyoka has also accepted the Chief Cabinet Secretary position that was offered to him by Mr Odinga last month when he unveiled Martha Karua as his running mate.
“I want to congratulate my sister Martha for being chosen as Mr Odinga’s running mate,” he said, adding that he unequivocally supports the nomination of the Narc Kenya leader.
He made the announcement at his SKM Centre in Karen, Nairobi.
Mr Musyoka was expected to appear before the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) on Saturday for registration as a presidential candidate, but this will now not happen following today’s announcement.
The former vice president had announced his solo presidential run on May 16, the same day Mr Odinga nominated Ms Karua as his running mate.
Today’s announcement follows resolutions by Wiper leaders from Ukambani region to have Mr Musyoka work with the Azimio team. A section of professionals from the region had also disclosed that the interests of the community would only be catered for under Azimio and urged the Wiper leader to reconsider his candidature.
Raila leads Ruto in new poll
Raila Odinga has shot seven points in under a month to poll 39 per cent, after naming Narc Kenya leader Martha Karua, a new poll has shown.
On the flip side, his main challenger, Deputy President William Ruto, who has named Mathira MP Rigathi Gachagua as running mate, has dropped to 35 per cent from 39 per cent three weeks ago.
This is according to a poll by Trends & Insights for Africa (TIFA) conducted on May 17, one day after Mr Odinga named Ms Karua as running mate, and two days after Dr Ruto announced the Gachagua pick.
The poll sampled 1,719 respondents from across the country, who were interviewed by phone in a poll TIFA said it funded on its own.
The respondents were picked from regions subdivided as Central Rift, Coast, Lower Eastern, Mt Kenya, Nairobi, Northern, Nyanza, South Rift, and Western, and divided as according to the population.
Dr Ruto’s current tally of 35 per cent is a drop from the 38 per cent in November 2021 and February 2022, as well as the 39 per cent in April this year.
For Mr Odinga, it is a steady rise from the 23 per cent in November 2021, 27 per cent in February 2022, and 32 per cent in April, to his current 39 per cent.
Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka, who has announced a solo run on the day Mr Odinga nominated Ms Karua as running mate, polls two per cent, same as his February 2022 and November 2021 tally.
As of now, no political party attracts the support of more than one-third of Kenyans.
Dr Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance (UDA) is at 29 per cent, while Mr Odinga’s Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) is at 25 per cent.
“Aside from a small minority who identify with Jubilee (3 percent), the remainder – just over one-third (37percent) – are yet to decide about their preferred party (13 percent), identify with no party (18 percent), or declined to answer the question (6 percent),” TIFA said in the poll.
The poll also showed that 14 percent of those surveyed are undecided, while 8 percent refused to respond to the question.
By Nation.Africa
