People's Liberation Party (PLP) leader Martha Karua has declared that she will support whichever candidate Kenyans choose to lead the opposition if she is not selected as the flag bearer in the next General Election.
Speaking in an interview on Tuesday, July 21, Karua, however, ruled out serving as a running mate again, saying her previous experience in the position was enough.
"If I am not chosen as the flag bearer, I will support the candidate Kenyans choose. The only thing I will not do is serve as a running mate. I had a good run with Raila," she said.
Karua also defended her political record, saying she had consistently championed the rule of law and the fight against corruption.
"I have a proven track record that I have served; I have consistently stood for the rule of law. I have consistently stood for the fight against corruption. It is important for the united opposition or any formation to have rules that they adhere to," she added.
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Karua further stated that PLP was designed to outlast her leadership, noting that the party's constitution limited the period one could serve as its leader.
"PLP will outlast me. Our constitution has a term limit. I will no longer be eligible as a party leader in the next elections of party leadership, which is immediately after the next general election," she further said.
Karua also called on political parties to establish strong governance structures and succession plans to ensure their survival beyond the tenure of individual leaders.
"If parties are not structured in a way they outlast the leadership, then when a leader departs, there will be turmoil immediately, and that is what we are seeing. Parties must endeavor to have good governance, to have succession plans," she noted.
This comes a week after a new Infotrak Research and Consulting survey has ranked a Kalonzo Musyoka-Edwin Sifuna presidential ticket as the most preferred opposition pairing.
The survey, released on Monday, July 13, shows the Kalonzo-Sifuna ticket leading the field with 23 per cent support.
It is followed by Kalonzo with Fred Matiang’i at 16 per cent, while a ticket featuring Matiang’i as presidential candidate and Kalonzo as running mate ranks third with 15 per cent.
Despite Kalonzo’s dominance at the top of the rankings, the poll indicates the opposition race remains unsettled, with 21 per cent of respondents saying they were not sure or did not know which ticket they preferred.
Regionally, the Kalonzo-Sifuna ticket enjoys its strongest support in Western Kenya, where it received 36 per cent backing.
It also performed strongly in Eastern (28 per cent), Coast (26 per cent), Nyanza (26 per cent) and Nairobi (21 per cent). The ticket registered 19 per cent support in Rift Valley, 17 per cent in North Eastern and 14 per cent in Central.
The Kalonzo-Matiang’i pairing recorded its strongest performance in North Eastern, where it polled 23 per cent, followed by Eastern at 22 per cent.
It attracted 15 per cent support in Coast, Central and Rift Valley, 13 per cent in Western, Nyanza and Nairobi, and 10 per cent in North Eastern.
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