The Movement for Democracy and Growth party on Tuesday commenced an ambitious membership recruitment drive in Ugenya constituency.
The MDG, led by Ugenya MP David Ochieng’ said that the new members will be aligned with the ruling Kenya Kwanza coalition.
“We are happy to have begun the registration of members today. We have met and issued registration forms to 71 delegates to lead the recruitment process,” Joseph Olale, an MDG-nominated MCA said.
Ugenya is in Siaya county, the home of Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition party leader Raila Odinga.
Raila’s Orange Democratic Movement is the most dominant party in the region.
“We know that propaganda is going to emerge that we are recruiting people to go auction them to President William Ruto. No, we are doing this in the spirit of multiparty democracy,” Olale said.
He noted that membership drives are not only being done by MDG but by several other parties in the country – ODM and Ruto’s United Democratic Movement included.
Filgona Odhiambo, alias Mama MDG, called on women to register in their numbers to make the party stronger.
The MDG officials urged residents in Luo Nyanza to think beyond ODM as that would ensure that their sons and daughters are part of every successive government.
“We are flocked in one party (ODM) with which when we fail to clinch power then we do so en masse. Look at Western Kenya, they have leaders in both government and opposition; because they have since embraced many parties," Olale said.
The MDG officials observe that gallant Luo sons and daughters were at the forefront in advocating for multipartyism, so, residents should not rival the alternative parties.
Sylvester Wire, a delegate stated that through MDG’s cooperation with Ruto’s regime, Ugenya is set to benefit from development projects to be launched by the president himself.
The projects include cotton ginnery at the 5-ha Bar Anyali farm and major roads—Sihayi-Bar Ober-Sega; Sega- Siranga; Siranga –Ukwala; and Sega-Nyalenya.
The road projects will be 62 kilometres long, Wire explained.
“This is why the people of Ugenya are supporting the government of the day. We have learnt that being in government is good and as MDG we support President Ruto to extend development to our backyard,” Wire said.
Wire urged traditionally dominant parties like the ODM to remain tolerant as development projects take root since the difference between MDG and others is just but ideological.
MDG said it is targeting to recruit 10,000 new members in Ugenya and later proceed to the rest of Siaya, Kisumu, Southern Nyanza and Western.
Late last month, the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties while at a meeting with party secretary generals in Machakos county, put pressure on the outfits to ensure compliance lest they be deregistered.
Every political party, the ORPP stressed, must have at least 1,000 members in at least 24 counties in Kenya.
There exist 89 political parties in Kenya, according to ORPP records.
Other areas of compliance that the ORPP is keen on are the political parties’ constitution, leadership structure and financial reporting.
