MPs allied to the Jubilee Party have hailed plans by the party leadership to involve the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission in party nominations to ensure the exercise is free and fair.
This, they argued, will provide the electorate with a good chance to elect good candidates.
The legislators made the remarks after a church service at Murungaru township in Nyandarua County
on Sunday where they had joined worshippers of the Kenya Assemblies of God.
They included governor Waithaka Mwangi, Kimani Ichungwa, Wanjiku Muihia and George Theuri.
The others were Kanini Kega, Waweru Nderitu, David Kiaraho, Samuel Gichigi and Kinyanjui Mburu.
Mwangi
said free and fair nominations in the Jubilee party will give the party credibility.
Muihia said no one should be stopped from offering their candidature for any political seat in the country, as it was their democratic right to do so.
Theuri said Kenyans should be accommodative of each other and know that the country belonged to all.
On their part, Kiaraho and Mburu vehemently opposed the idea of announcing presidential results at tallying centres in counties saying such a move was a recipe for anarchy.
The two leaders collectively said counting should be done at polling stations as has been the tradition.
Mburu also said the new IEBC commissioners must be in place before the Isaack Hassan led commission leaves office.
The legislators were reacting to Deputy President William Ruto’s remarks that Jubilee would ask IEBC to conduct party nominations so that all candidates will be satisfied with the outcome.
He said there were no preferred candidates in the party and that is why nominations must be done fairly to get the right people to steer the party's agenda.
“The constitution says one of the duties of the IEBC is to conduct nominations. We will use this so that we eliminate any doubts and help strengthen democracy in the country,” Ruto said.
He noted that the aim of dissolving Jubilee affiliate parties into one party is to unite the country and avoid parties being formed on tribal affiliation.
“Our aim is not to win the elections because that we can win. We want a national party that will help us build a country that all Kenyans will be proud of. Those who fought for independence did not mean to fragment this country into tribal entities,” Ruto said.
The DP made it clear that the party had no preferred candidates saying that the decision on who will vie on the party’s ticket in next year’s polls ticket rests with the electorate.
He said, “Even President Uhuru Kenyatta and I will be seeking for votes, so we cannot influence voters to vote for a particular candidate yet we will also be vote seekers.”
Ichungw’a expressed similar sentiments saying Kenyans should remain focused in building one society and one country adding that no one should claim any part of the country as their preserve as a tribe.
“We are behind you in uniting the country, those who are bent on dividing us along tribal lines will fail,” he added.