The former Prime Minister Raila Odinga will be trying his luck on the Presidency for the fifth time on August 9.
Raila, who is hopeful that he will emerge the winner after being unsuccessful in the previous elections, has a strong campaign team that has been popularizing his presidential candidature and agendas, the most popular one being the Kshs6,000 monthly stipend to the poor families.
The ODM leader also seems to be advantaged as compared to his competitors because he has the full support of president Uhuru Kenyatta and Jubilee party. A number of Jubilee MPs have been accompanying those of Azimio la Umoja to different parts of the country to ensure that Raila wins more votes.
However, there are more things that Raila needs to to to claim the victory and that includes:
1.Raila Should Pick a running mate from Central Kenya
The ODM leader needs to guarantee himself votes from central Kenya and he can do that by settling on a running mate from the region.
According to statistics, Raila needs only 30% of votes from Central Kenya to become the president.
Mt. Kenya has a massive number of voters, who turn out in large numbers to participate in elections and once he settles for his running mate from the region, Raila can convince more people to vote for him.
- Restrain his family from making controversial remarks in public.
Raila should ensure his family refrains from making remarks and comments that are controversial so as not to taint his image. He needs to maintain a positive image in the public eye.
A recent case was when his wife Ida Odinga called upon the National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK) to regulate the number of churches in the country as some were just on business.
Her remarks caused an uproar among Kenyans until she was forced to apologize. Such remarks paint Raila in a negative way.
His son Raila Odinga junior should also be watchful of the comments he makes on social media.
- Convince voters in his strongholds
Raila is required to convince more people in his stronghold areas such as Nyanza region and Western to register as voters in large numbers and also participate in the coming general elections. Such areas have huge populations but the number of registered voters is usually low.
He should make them understand the plans that he has for them once he attains power. He should also enlighten them on the importance of participating in elections.
- Strike A deal with Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka
Raila should consider working with Wiper party leader Kalonzo Musyoka to secure about 1.2 million votes that he garnered from Ukambani region in 2013 and 2017 general elections.
According to political pundits, Kalonzo is important and Raila should not ignore him.
The statement was recently echoed by Gatundu South Moses Kuria who said that what Kalonzo can bring to the table is much more than what Governors Charity Ngilu, Kivutha Kibwana and Alfred Mutua combined can bring.
“Even Raila knows there is no way Charity Ngilu, Alfred Mutua and Kivutha Kibwana can replace Kalonzo Musyoka,” Kuria said in an interview.
- He Should not encourage dynasties .
There are a number of Raila’s relatives who will be vying for various seats in the coming elections and to keep his hands clean, he should not campaign for them or involve himself with their political activities.
Raila’s relatives eyeing elective posts in 2022 include his elder brother Oburu Odinga who is eyeing for the Siaya gubernatorial seat, his sister Ruth who wants to succeed governor Anyang’ Nyong’o.
His nephew Jaoko Oburu Odinga is set to vie for Bondo parliamentary seat while Elijah Oburu Odinga will be going for Kisumu central parliamentary seat.
His daughters have also shown interest in politics with Winnie expected to go for the Lang’ata parliamentary seat. Previously, Rosemary wanted to vie for the Kibra parliamentary seat but shelved the ambition due to illness.
To win people’s trust, there should also be free and fair nominations in his ODM party and more so in areas that his relatives will also be contesting.
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