By Phil Wesonga
Kibra Constituency 2017 Parliamentary hopeful Eliud Owalo has urged members of the Luo Community to register to the last man and woman ahead of the 2017 elections.
Owalo urged each youth, especially newly married women, to acquire ID cards and register as voters. Registration of voters is a continuous process.
Perhaps as a pointer to the fact that CORD leader Raila Odinga will be in the Presidential race come 2017, Owalo who is considered to be one of Mr. Odinga’s closest confidants and a key strategist stated that the year 2017 presents the Luo community with not only the most immediate but also statistically realistic chance of ascending to the Presidency of Kenya through Raila Odinga.
He reiterated that if Raila is not elected President in 2017, it will take the Luo Community ages to nurture and build another individual to the level, calibre and stature of Raila Odinga who can command national and international recognition and appeal to be able to compete effectively for the Presidency of Kenya.
Speaking today at Asumbi in Homabay County during the burial of Mama Dorina Omwono, mother to the Chairman of Kamkunji grounds in Kibra Constituency in Nairobi,Mr. Joash Oguta Omwono, Mr. Owalo reiterated that any adult who fails to register as voter should be considered to be working against the political interests of the Luo Community and therefore regarded as an enemy to the community.
He went further to state that with concerted efforts,the CORD Coalition has the capacity to register a minimum of 12 Million voters within its strongholds out of an estimated total of about 18.5 Million voters to enable the CORD Coalition defeat Jubilee in the first round of the 2017 Presidential race by garnering a minimum of 65% of the total Presidential votes cast.
He urged all opposition political leaders at all levels to allocate resources to facilitate and spearhead the ID acquisition and voter registration exercise, emphasising that the same should be treated as a stand alone project that is imperative to the political success of the CORD Coalition in 2017.
Owalo who headed Rala’s Presidential campaign in the 2013 elections insisted that Mr. Odinga won the 2013 Presidential race by a margin of over 1.6 Million votes,but Jubilee with the help of then President Mwai Kibaki coerced the Government’s security apparatus and intelligence agencies to arm twist the electoral oversight agencies and the Supreme Court to manipulate and rig the Presidential poll in favor of Uhuru Kenyatta.
He said the most realistic way of averting a repeat rigging at the 2017 Poll is to ensure the opposition beats Uhuru Kenyatta by a bigger margin than that of the year 2002 when Mr. Kenyatta who was then retired President Moi’s preferred candidate performed dismally against the NARC Coalition. This, he said is only possible through massive voter registration and an elaborate vote protection machinery.He however warned Jubilee of unspecified consequences should it attempt to rig the 2017 poll.
Owalo also emphasized the importance of the forthcoming referendum duel as a prelude to the 2017 elections,noting that the opposition must use the referendum contest as a warm-up match for 2017 by passing an equivocal and resounding verdict on the need for more devolved funds and say a big no to the vices of high-level corruption, nepotism, insecurity and high levels of unemployment which have characterized the Jubilee administration.
Owalo concluded by urging progressive forces who may have been duped into supporting the Jubilee Coalition at the 2013 Poll to instantly jump ship when the window of opportunity is still open and join forces with the opposition in the March towards the third and final liberation of Kenya as a Country.
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