NAIROBI, Kenya July29 – The Orange Democratic Movement Party (ODM) has resolved to exit the National Super Alliance (NASA) after months of an unending feud with its partners – Wiper, FORD Kenya and Amani National Congress parties.
The decision announced by Secretary General Edwin Sifuna on Thursday was arrived at following the party’s National Executive Council (NEC) meeting chaired by Party Leader Raila Odinga.
“NASA is the past for us, we would like to formally end this arrangement and for us to be allowed to pursue relationships with other people,” he said.
Consequently, Sifuna noted that the party will officially write to the Registrar of Political Parties communicating it’s decision.
Sifuna noted that the party is now keen on forging new alliances with like-minded leaders who share the party’s same ideologies.
“We intend to embark on a program to build new partnerships and extend the ongoing talks with our potential partners to the grassroots. To this end, regional meetings and engagements have been planed with like-minded parties and the scheduled for this will be shared in due course,” he said.
The NASA divorce proceedings have been a culmination of accusations and counter accusations with three coalition’s principals — Kalonzo Musyoka (Wiper), Musalia Mudavadi (ANC) and Moses Wetangula (FORD Kenya) — accusing ODM of bullying them and starving them of cash.
Following months of jostling and negotiations, on Wednesday it emerged that the three parties will get Sh152 million with the ODM Party getting the lions share of Sh489 million for the financial years 2017/2018, 2018/2019 and 2019/2020.
Wiper is set to be allocated Sh70 million, ANC Sh43.9 million and FORD Kenya party Sh36 million.
Musyoka instructed the members of Wiper’s National Executive Council on Wednesday to finalize the NASA exit amid heightened efforts to build new alliances ahead of the 2022 polls.
ANC’s Mudavadi has also been categorical that NASA is dead and also committed to initiate the party’s official exit from the four-year-old coalition that was once formidable.
Following the NEC resolution, Odinga took to his Twitter account saying the party was now ready to forge new alliances.
“We shall now embark on a new, inclusive and futuristic political trajectory. I’m impressed by team’s enthusiasm in promoting our party’s social justice agenda,” he said.
Musyoka, Mudavadi and Wetangula have since charted their own political path coalescing around the One Kenya Alliance (OKA) even though they are yet to agree on who will be the alliance’s flag bearer.
Odinga who has since hinted at making his fifth stab at the presidency has been left isolated but he is banking on the support of President Uhuru Kenyatta with whom he’s have had a good working relationship under the handshake that they initiated on March 9, 2018.
ODM and Jubilee were initially working on a political partnership that was geared towards producing a joint presidential candidate for the high-stake 2022 General Election but the plan was paused by the latter owing to their own internal challenges fueled by disgruntlement of some members.
Whereas it is still unclear if the plan would be resuscitated, Odinga is confident that his newfound partnership with President Kenyatta is solid and would ultimately have a huge influence on his candidature.
Odinga has however, previously noted that he is not interested in President Kenyatta’s endorsement instead saying he is only keen on his vote.
KANU Party which has also associated with the One Kenya Alliance has remained committal that the alliance is unstoppable even as it reiterated that its partnership with the Jubilee Party is still intact.