The young Turks in Azimio are up in arms ; they feel that the youth have been shortchanged when it comes to distributing the loser ’ s spoils . This is after broadcasting to all and sundry the important positions they would have held had they been victorious .
The battle at the moment is about parliamentary leadership and who of the so-called loyal lieutenants will be appointed to powerful committees on the houses . The youth , in this case , a euphemism for new blood not age , feel it is now their turn .
They bemoan the fact that their hallowed leader runs the party as a personal business for purely personal gain . The election process is a five-year periodic occasion to replenish the depleted coffers of the business and collect on influence peddling .
The leader has been accused by some quarters of extortion and favoritism where members of his family and cronies received direct tickets while the rest of the aspirants had to pay astronomical figures for the privilege of running on the party ticket , some with no guarantee even after parting with the hard-earned dough .
Some are frustrated and disillusioned by the leader ’ s behavior of micromanaging even the county assemblies to ensure that his picks are the ones to get the lucrative positions irrespective of the ability of those he personally endorses .
They have even vowed to supervise the demise and burial of the party if they do not get their way . The chest thumping and cockiness have caught many by surprise and amusement as they seem to be in competition to claim the supreme disparager ’ s crown .
These were the same people who not too long ago had climbed on every molehill available to proclaim to all those who cared to listen that they had nothing to fear from the waves since Baba was their captain and that he was a seasoned sailor with no equal .
They announced that this was a new era and that they were going to Canaan on a ship and not through the tortuous desert routes where they were prone to get lost . This time they had the master mariner ’ s charts and firm coordinates to destination .
The coordinates were actually correct and they delivered them to the nearest port city to Canaan but their final destination , Canaan , was located in the interior , through the same tortuous desert roads that they were now not equipped to navigate with their state of the art sailing gear .
It was not surprising that it is this same group of vocal supporters that immediately contrived amazing conspiracy theories after the shock-loss that they had been conned all along by their leader ’ s bosom partner who offered them a shortcut to nowhere .
Are these internal wrangles a reaction of disappointed hopefuls who were certain of victory to only end up losing or do they point to a group of people that had no clue on what was going on but somehow were convinced they were on the right track ?
If , as per their accusations , Azimio runs a tight ship with a leader that is au fait with the party ’ s operations from the top down to the MCA level , then how would you explain how such a leader , with such deep tentacles reaching the grassroots , could have lost an election ?
Let us first put the just concluded election in correct perspective , the Kenya Kwanza win was razor thin as it translates into just five votes per polling station and that demonstrates how the results would have gone either way for the contestants .
The reason Kwanza was is a hurry to lure legislators in the Azimio coalition to their side after the conclusion of the elections is because Azimio coalition would control the lower house and create havoc for the presidency that wants to push its own agenda .
Azimio were in pole position since they supposedly had deep state machinery backing them and it is usually assumed that the state gets what it wants . That very fact makes the Kenya Kwanza victory all the more stunning as it perhaps defies logic in an African setting .
Given the small margin of the eventual win it is actually astonishing for Kwanza to have won the election in the first round . Kenyans were actually psychologically ready for the second round but all parties realized that their best bet was a first round win .
What people tend to forget is that national elections are the ultimate marketing campaigns in the country . The candidates with the best marketing strategies which are then executed to the ‘ T ’ are the ones that occupy those coveted national seats . It is not just a mere popularity contest , it is very hard work . Marketing terminology is akin to the military jargon because one has to capture the hearts and minds of those you wish to vote for you . It is a war and as they say all is fair in love and war which roughly translates that the means justify the end .
So to cry foul that your victory was stolen is equivalent to admitting that you were caught napping and your adversary took great advantage of it . It is your business to anticipate all the ways that your opponents will try to out-wit you and block them or be several steps ahead .
That is precisely why a candidate has a campaign team of strategists and their main job is to understand the competition and craft a strategy meant to outwit or neutralize the opponent . If you do choose to use questionable methods then the eleventh commandment kicks in ‘ thou shall not get caught ’.
A free and fair election does not mean an election without hitches it simply means an election where the combatants can use any ‘ legal ’ means to clinch the position without breaking any of the overt laws set out by the ‘ independent ’ referee IEBC .
In the event that a contestant ‘ knows ’ that the referee was compromised , as was the case in the last election , then there is a recourse to the Supreme Court , armed with facts , that can adjudicate on whether a malpractice was committed .
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If , as per their accusations , Azimio runs a tight ship with a leader that is au fait with the party ’ s operations from the top down to the MCA level , then how would you explain how such a leader , with such deep tentacles reaching the grassroots , could have lost an election ?