Presidential hopeful Okiya Omtatah has expressed confidence in sending President William Ruto home in 2027 Presidential Election.
Speaking on TV47 on Monday, May 26 night, the Busia senator exuded confidence in his candidature, insisting that he is the right man to steer Kenya towards prosperity and economic independence.
Senator Omtatah revealed that a Presidential Exploratory Committee he picked to assess the feasibility of his candidacy for the 2027 presidential election has so far visited 31 counties.
“I am vying for the presidency, I have an exploratory committee which is going round. So far they have done 31 counties, and the verdict is that I should vie because the ground is supportive of my presidential candidature.”
Omtatah was confident that if the 2027 elections will be free and fair, then Ruto will make history as the first president to serve for only one term.
“If we are able to hold this elections according to the constitution, and we terminate the presidential election at the Constituency level, there is no way Mr Ruto can win. He can only win it if it gets its way to Bomas.
In June 2017, the Court of Appeal made a declaration that presidential election results declared at the constituency level are final. In the premise of this fact, Senator Omtatah says that it will be difficult for one to alter presidential results.
However, he rues that somehow the political class have been finding a way to overturn the will of Kenyans at the ballot at the Bomas of Kenya, the venue usually used as the national tallying centre.
A united opposition?
The question of a united opposition, Omtatah insists, is neither here nor there. He says that the 2010 Constitution made sure that one will not be declared winner of a presidential election simply because there were so many candidates on the ballot, and therefore a divided vote.
“The question of uniting the opposition is being cast within the mold of what happens in the old constitution, when [then-President Daniel Moi] had 30% of the votes and won. In the current constitution, you must have 50% +1 for you to win, so it doesn’t matter how many candidates are there.”
Omtatah said that he will not unite with other political camps simply because they are saying “Ruto should go”, but rather he will close ranks with politicians who have a clear policy framework of transforming Kenya.
“For me, I want to engage at the level of policy. The only person I have seen coming close to policy is Rigathi Gachagua who says ‘one term’. But after one term, what next? I would like to see, not necessarily a convergence of faces, but a convergence of a clear policy framework for moving this country forward. If somebody comes up with the policies and the position I hold, I will agree with him. But if somebody just says we come together to simply kick out, so that we replace Ruto with another Ruto, I am not with them.”
By Michael Majanga
