GCK Party: Smaller Parties In Azimio Demand Respect

The tiff in the Azimio coalition shows no signs of slowing down after smaller parties led by Green Congress Party of Kenya called for respect from ODM, Jubilee and Wiper, the larger and influential parties in the coalition.

Speaking when he handed over nomination certificates to dozens of aspirants seeking various positions across the country in the August 9, 20022 General Election, GCK Party chairman Hillary Alila accused the “big” parties of treating their coalition partners as “though they were children of a lesser God.”

“We are in Azimio because we believe in the collective philosophy that Raila Odinga is the best Kenyan to become our fifth president, but the likes of ODM and Jubilee are behaving as if we are not partners in the (Azimio) Coalition,” Alila insisted. 

“We want to tell them that, just like everyone else, the parties they are calling small are also traversing the country campaigning for PM Raila Odinga.”

Alila chastised the Orange Democratic Party for mistreating the other parties and “carrying the demeanor of owning the Azimio presidential candidate.”

GCK is one of the nearly 30 political parties forming the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition political party and their sentiments are echoed by many other political parties that have been given the tag of ‘smaller’ parties within the Azimio movement.

“Yes, Odinga is the Party Leader of ODM and everyone respects that but there needs to be a measure of both respect and appreciation that all of us have a stake in this coalition political party by right.

“The way ODM are behaving is not right and we are here to tell them that Raila is our presidential candidate as he is for the majority of Kenyans.”

GCK sentiments come amidst growing disquiet among the Azimio constituent parties, with a section of them accusing others of feeling more entitled than others.

GCK Party Leader Martin Ogindo assured that the party will do everything to ensure it complies with the two-thirds gender requirement in their nomination lists as directed by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).

IEBC, in a letter to political parties, has warned that political parties which fail to satisfy the gender parity requirement of the law will be disqualified from fielding candidates in the August 9, 2022 General Elections.

“We are aware of the directive from IEBC and as a party we are working towards ensuring that not more than two thirds of our nominees for various seats are of the same gender,” explained Ogindo, who is seeking a return to the Rangwe parliamentary seat on the party’s ticket.

IEBC boss Wafula Chebukati says the parties will be served a notice to adjust their lists upon being found to have failed to comply with the gender parity rule.