UDA postponed party elections due to El Nino rains, MP Koech explains

According to Koech, the party saw the need to push the elections from December 2023 to April 2024 because it would be insensitive to proceed with the polls yet thousands of people across the country have been affected by the heavy rains. 

"It will be very insensitive for us politicians to campaign at the backdrop of a nation that is suffering the effects of flooding and excess rainfall. It could not have made sense and we thought it's fair that we suspend it until April," Koech said on Citizen TV's Daybreak show. 

He also argued that the elections were postponed due to the East African Assemblies games in Rwanda, where most of the key players in the UDA elections will be attending.

He also alluded to the postponement of the December festivities where families reunite to celebrate the end of the year and the beginning of another one.

"At our last PG we requested the president that because of what is happening in the country it is only fair to move the election to a later date," Koech said further.

On the same panel, Vihiga Senator Godfrey Osotsi laughed off the claims that the party grassroots elections were postponed due to the El Nino rains.

Osotsi instead claimed the election was postponed due to hostile reception at the grassroots as a result of the rising cost of living that has left many Kenyans struggling.

"The ground is very hostile to UDA because of the cost of living. So it is only fair for them to postpone the elections so that they don't face those challenges on the ground," Osotsi said.

The senator also added that internal wrangles within the party made it difficult to conduct the elections, as leaders from different regions have their own demands.

"We know the internal competition within UDA. We have people who are saying we want this seat, others are saying this region must get this... Mt. Kenya saying they must have SG position and also must have one position for deputy party leader," he added.

On November 18, UDA announced the postponement of the grassroots elections, a decision reached after the National Steering Council (NSC) meeting. 

“The elections will be staggered into three clusters, taking place on 12th, 19th and 26th April 2024. A detailed schedule outlining county clusters will be released in due course,” UDA Secretary General Cleophas Malala announced.