The technical committee tasked with recommending NASA’s presidential candidate has emphatically said it must be Raila Odinga.
The committee warned that excluding the ODM leader and former Prime Minister would outrage his supporters and convert intact opposition bastions into battlegrounds with Jubilee.
According to five top academics, Raila remains the most formidable candidate and his stepping aside will not translate into automatic votes for any NASA principal.
The confidential recommendation has been presented to the National Coordinating Committee, NASA’s political wing. The NCC will deliberate and make recommendations to the principals — Raila, Kalonzo Musyoka (Wiper), Musalia Mudavadi (ANC) and Moses Wetang’ula (Ford Kenya).
The committee includes economist Dr David Ndii, Nairobi University professor Dr Adams Oloo, Kabarak University law professor Elisha Ongoya, former member of the defunct Constitution of Kenya Review Commission Abubakar Zein and ex-Mumias Sugar Company chairman Dan Ameyo.
Today, the four principals are to stage a rally at Masinde grounds in Nairobi’s Mathare area.
This would be NASA’s first rally in Nairobi, the country’s political epicentre, since the coalition was officially formed on February 23.
NASA’s steering committee said, “A major announcement is to be made that will significantly change the country’s political landscape. All citizens of goodwill, yearning for change and aspiring for Kenya’s prosperity, are invited to attend.”
Sources familiar with NASA negotiations told the local media the technical team’s analysis indicates that if Raila is not the flagbearer, nearly all ODM turf becomes swing-vote areas.
