The Maendeleo Chap Chap leaders and members of the Machakos County Assembly are in anguish over the cost they would incur to change their posters and billboards from Azimio la Umoja to Kenya Kwanza Alliance.
This is after their party leader and Machakos Governor Dr. Alfred Mutua ditched Azimio and joined Kenya Kwanza on complaints of unequal treatment of political parties in the formation.
Speaking to the media at the Machakos County Assembly, Boniface Maeke MCA aspirant Kalama Sub County said there’s a lot of input in setting up a billboard which costs more than 500,000 which most of the leaders do not have at the moment.
“For one to put up a billboard, it costs over 500,000 and for one to pull it down it will put the candidates and voters in a lot of confusion and frustration,” said Maeke.
He added that it needed a lot of consultation for the candidates and leaders to change the posters and billboards.
Alex Kamitu MCA Tala ward and leader of Minority at the Machakos County Assembly on his part said there were costs that have to be incurred after their party MCC moved from Azimio to Kenya kwanza but leaders should not count the costs because loyal electorates were more important.
“The candidates should not bother about the cost if they don’t have money because the most important thing is closeness to your electorates who know your face and cannot make a mistake on your appearance on the ballot,” said Kamitu.
“With or without the symbols of those posters already prepared, if the members have confidence in you, then one should not be worried,” added MCA Kamitu.
Kamitu said as Maendeleo Chap Chap, they were trying to prevent a situation where a member does not appear at the ballot box, so he urged the candidates to continue campaigning and have confidence in their electorate.
“I will not remove my poster because I have confidence in my electorate since they know me and the most important thing on the ballot is the appearance of the candidate, not the symbol,” insisted Kamitu.
Steven Nzioka a Machakos resident who spoke to the media on the effect of the posters and the required changes said the posters have to be changed to the alliance the candidate has recently joined to avoid confusion.
“Posters and billboards have a lot of influence so if MCC members have decided to join Kenya Kwanza, then they should immediately change the details on all their posters so as to avoid confusing their electorates,” said Nzioka.
Nzioka added most of them were very busy and would prefer clear communication through posters where a candidate belongs.
This comes days after Alfred Mutua addressed the press at a Nairobi hotel saying his MCC party had sealed a pact with Deputy President William Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza Alliance citing exclusion from Azimio lineups, campaign programs, and funding.
Mutua added that the lack of transparency within Azimio could result in some aspirants being locked out of the August elections at the last minute.
