ANC party leader Musalia Mudavadi has said his plans to vie for the presidency in 2022 are at an advanced stage and no one will make him shelve his bid.
Mudavadi said he has started to put in place the infrastructure needed for the race.
The ANC boss said Kenya needs an alternative and voters should not be “boxed into a corner in the name of a two-horse race narrative.”
“I am looking at nothing less other than being on the ballot. That is my target. I am offering myself to the people of Kenya so that I can serve them as their president come 2022,” Mudavadi said during an interview with the Star.
Mudavadi said he is putting final touches on relevant structures in his party in readiness for the launch of his presidential campaign even as One Kenya Alliance talks take shape.
He indicated he has already prepared his manifesto and will launch it "soon".
While maintaining that he is not under immense pressure to shelve his bid, Mudavadi said the ultimate decision on Kenya’s next president will be made on the ballot.
“Nobody should hoodwink Kenyans into making a decision on whom to vote for come August 2022,” the former vice president said.
Recent reports have claimed Mudavadi is under pressure from the Jubilee government to support ODM leader Raila Odinga, who is President Uhuru Kenyatta's preferred candidate.
Mudavadi also distanced himself from claims he is being courted by Deputy President William Ruto.
The Amani Council- ANC’s top decision-making organ- has endorsed Mudavadi to go for the top seat.
Kakamega Senator Cleophas Malala said his party leader has to be on the ballot come 2022.
“Musalia Mudavadi has to be on the ballot for two reasons. He is the unifying factor in this country when you look at the front runners for the top seat. He is also the leader whom Kenyans can trust,” Malala said.
Matuga MP Kassim Tandaza said ANC has made it clear to Mudavadi that it is now or never.
“Whichever formation he will be in, Mudavadi has to be on the presidential ballot. All that is going on about Musalia Mudavadi being coerced to support any other candidate is a big lie. I want to tell Kenyans not to be swayed to believe rumours,” Tandaza said.
Mudavadi believes the Luhya community has the numbers to boost his bargaining power in OKA and also propel him to the presidency
He further said ANC is paying close attention to Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission 2022 timelines.
“We are conscious of the IEBC timelines. By the time we get to the deadlines, submissions will have been made. We are bound by the IEBC timelines because they are the timelines stipulated under the law."
"Those are the guidelines we are working towards meeting since they are stated under the law and are statutory,” he stated.
He termed Raila and Ruto as pure competitors who are working towards a certain goal, adding that the only conversation he has been having is about OKA talks.
“I am very focused on where I want to go. I am focused on seeking the presidency of this country. And if there is anything that will warrant that conversation, I will not shy away from telling Kenyans that I am in a conversation. But I want to tell Kenyans what many are dealing with now are mere rumours than anything else,” he added.
“We have not been making the ODM chief Raila Odinga the subject of our OKA conversation. He is running his affairs in ODM and we are members of a different formation,” Mudavadi said.
He has been seen as the only reluctant principal in OKA to shelve his bid in favour of Raila. OKA also has Kalonzo Musyoka (Wiper), Moses Wetang'ula (Ford Kenya) and Gideon Moi (Kanu).
The 2013 presidential candidate vehemently denied claims he is considering forming a new alliance dubbed Kenya Kwanza.
“We still have several months ahead of us [to the polls]. Within those months, a lot of things will have happened".
"I can take you back to Kenya’s political history, the shape of Kenya’s politics normally takes its actual direction about four to five months before the voting day. The Narc wave was just a three-month wave in 2002 and it swept the whole country,” he added.
Mudavadi and Kalonzo have unsuccessfully bid for the presidency once— Kalonzo in 2007 and Mudavadi in 2013.
Edited by EKibii