Leaders allied to the Azimio coalition in Mt. Kenya region have launched a 10-day campaign aimed at delivering 70 percent of the votes in the region to ensure Raila Odinga emerge victorious in the August 9 election.
Speaking to the press in Murang’a, a political analyst Prof. Peter Kagwanja who is leading the campaign in the county said they are seeking to deliver at least 450,000 votes in Murang’a out of the 600,000 registered voters and that they have laid down plans to deliver the projected votes.
“Odinga is our candidate and we are out to make sure he wins with a landslide,” he said, adding that the Azimio coalition flagbearer will be the next president of this country, but the biggest question is with what percentage because this will also count.
According to Kagwanja, the campaign is also aimed at strengthening the bargaining power for Martha Karua who is Odinga’s running mate.
“If she does not get more votes from this region she will be considered weak, because in politics the number of votes you put on the table matters,” Kagwanja stated.
He pointed out that the more votes she gets, the easier it will be for her to bargain for the interests of the people and push for development projects.
“As a coalition we have to get her the majority of the votes, so that when the residents request for projects she will use the percentage to bargain,” he added.
Kagwanja said the leaders shall do a door to door campaign focusing on the grassroots level, adding that the results shall be visible when people cast their votes.
The Azimio campaign coordinator in Murang’a, Stanley Kamau, said they have enlisted seven people in every ward to do the mobilization targeting to get at least 350 votes per polling station so as to achieve the anticipated number.
“There are 1,148 polling stations and if we get at least 350 votes for Odinga in each of them, we will get close to 450,000 votes, which translates to 70 percent of the votes here,” he said.
On his part, the outgoing Murang’a governor Mwangi wa Iria who recently joined Azimio coalition said he shall be part of the intense campaign to get votes for Odinga.
Wa Iria promised to deliver the votes in Murang’a county and lobby for support for Odinga in the other counties in the region.
