Belgut Member of Parliament Nelson Koech on Monday, November 20 stated that President William Ruto okayed the postponement of United Democratic Alliance (UDA) grassroots elections due to the ongoing disaster.
Koech noted that El Nino rains prompted the decision to suspend the planned grassroots elections which were scheduled for December.
“The UDA elections have been postponed because of the current situation in the country; it would be insensitive to campaign as Kenyans suffer the effects of El Nino,” Koech stated.
The MP was however cornered by Citizen TV anchor Sam Gituku who asked if UDA would postpone the rains in April 2024 because of the rains.
“It won’t be as heavy as now,” Koech responded to Gituku.
At the same time, Gituku queried Koech why the polls were suspended yet the party had planned to hold it online. Koech again noted that it would have been insensitive to hold elections due to the El Nino rains.
He added that the elections would also not have been successful due to the planned East African games where MPs are expected to fly out to participate.
Moreover, Koech noted that December is a family month and UDA did not want to interfere by hosting grassroots elections which require vigorous elections.
His sentiments came amidst concerns that Ruto might have called off the polls due to the internal wrangles.
A section of UDA leaders had expressed dissenting ideas in the recent past raising the eyebrows. Led by Mt Kenya leaders, they demanded two senior positions from the party.
Mt Kenya leaders demanded the Deputy Party leader position and that of the Secretary-General.
This raised a storm in the party among members from other parts of the nation who equally wanted top positions.
However, UDA is yet to iron out the power-sharing structure and reserving of seats for specific groups.
