NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov 21- Narc Kenya party leader Martha Karua has called on Kenyans to embrace multiparty politics in the country as part of opening up the democratic space.
Karua said calls to break individual parties to join others is backward politics because it will shrink the vibrant democratic space in the country.
“Even I will not tell all of you in Mt Kenya to join Narc-Kenya,” she said at the weekend during a tour of Mt Kenya region where she warned against political leaders who only “care about their own political mileage.”
“We agree that you are free to join any party. You should choose whoever you want, from different parties but we must avoid those involved in corruption and those whose integrity is questionable,” she said.
While citing Jubilee Party which merged more than 10 parties into one in 2013, Karua said such a move is a recipe for dictatorship.
She pointed out that if the MCAs, MPs, governors and even the president are in one party it will create authoritarianism.
Various parties, including the ruling Jubilee party is engaged into pre-election pacts with others like the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party.
Deputy President William Ruto who fell out of favour in the ruling party has been campaigning to take over from President Uhuru Kenyatta, under his United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party, which has made it clear it will not merge with any party.
Karua further reiterated that majority of county and national government leaders had won seats and gone to Parliament riding on popular parties and not because they had the required leadership skills or deserved to be in such parties.
Her remarks come in the wake of political defections ahead of the 2022 succession politics where politicians are moving to other parties to ensure they are elected.
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