A TALE OF TWO ORANGE CONVENTIONS: OPPOSITION

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 NAIROBI 003513 SIPDIS SIPDIS LONDON AND PARIS FOR AFRICA WATCHERS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KDEM KE PGOV PHUM SUBJECT: A TALE OF TWO ORANGE CONVENTIONS: OPPOSITION FORMALLY DISUNITES REF: A. 06 NAIROBI 4419 ¶B. 06 NAIROBI 5393 ¶1. (SBU) Summary: The Orange Democratic Movement-Kenya (ODM-K) nominated Kalonzo Musyoka for President at its convention held on 31 August. The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) nominated Raila Odinga for President at its convention the following day. As in '92 and '97, the opposition will enter the presidential campaign season disunited. However, a last minute re-unification of the opposition, as occurred in the 2002 election, remains possible, though we judge this unlikely. It is more probable that Kalonzo will opt to support Kibaki after the election and then bargain for a prominent cabinet post. End Summary. ¶2. (U) Ref A describes the Kenyan political scene prior to the opposition break up. Ref B provides a briefing on Kenya's major ethnic voting blocs. Three members of the Embassy political section attended both conventions described here. ODM-K: Kalonzo's Essentially Ethnic-Kamba Convention -------------- -------------- ¶3. (SBU) ODM-K held its one day nominating convention on 31 August at Nairobi's Kasarani Sports Center. The party had planned for 4,200 delegates to attend from across the country. In the end far more attended in an unofficial capacity, overwhelmingly from Kalonzo's ethnic Kamba community of Eastern Province. Kalonzo's only competitor was nominated Member of Parliament from Western Province (ethnic Luhya) Julia Ojiambo. The vote count was roughly 2/3s for Kalonzo and 1/3 for Ojiambo. Following the announcement of Kalonzo's victory, Ojiambo conceded and pronounced herself to be Kalonzo's running mate. Kalonzo was non-committal on that subject when he gave his acceptance speech. The convention was marked by very limited political support outside Kalonzo's home region. The only prominent local political leaders at the convention who were not from Kalonzo's home region were ODM-K Chairman Samuel Pogishio (MP from Rift Valley Province, ethnic Kalenjin) and Lucas Maitha (MP from Coast Province, ethnic Mijikenda). Neither politician has the stature to deliver more than a slice of their ethnic communities. Ojiambo was not able to recruit any prominent Western Province (ethnic Luhya) politicians to join her. ¶4. (SBU) Kalonzo gave a stirring speech and left the door open to an orange reconciliation somewhere down the line. For logistical reasons, any reconciliation that would change the ballot must occur no less than two months prior to the election (as was the case in 2002). We see the chances of an Orange reconciliation as quite low for both personal and political reasons. Kalonzo is the most popular politician in Kambaland, but Kibaki is nearly as popular among Kambas as is native son Kalonzo. Raila Odinga has no popularity in Kambaland. The Kambas make up about 11 percent of the population. They heeded Kalonzo's urgings not to support the Kibaki government's draft constitution in November 2005, but Kibaki has gained in popularity since then. Kambas are well represented in the Kibaki cabinet. Kalonzo is absolutely committed to running for President. We suspect that he will maintain his candidacy and work to elect as many ODM-K MPs as possible. He will then seek to bargain post-election for a senior cabinet post with Kibaki, the presumptive winner (according to conventional wisdom). This was the strategy successfully followed by FORD-P Chief Simeon Nyachae in 2002. ¶5. (SBU) Alternatively, Kalonzo might be tempted to give up his candidacy in favor of Kibaki if the Vice Presidency were offered to him. If the Kibaki government's 40 percent score in the November 2005 referendum vote is taken as a guide, then all Kibaki needs is one major voting bloc to switch sides. Kalonzo's Kamba vote could give the Kibaki team an additional 11 percent for a total of 51 percent, even if they make no gains elsewhere. All that is required under the Kenyan constitution is a plurality of the national vote with at least 25 percent support in five of the eight provinces. ODM: Raila Crowned King, Courtiers From Throughout Kenya -------------- -------------- NAIROBI 00003513 002 OF 003 ¶6. (SBU) ODM held its one day nominating convention on 1 September at the same Kasarani Sports Center. The party planned for 4,200 delegates from across the country, but the actual delegate vote count came to only 3,449. Delegates were more nationally representative than in the previous day's ODM-K event. The vote count came to 77 percent for Raila, 11 percent for former Vice President (under Moi) Musalia Mudavadi (ethnic Luhya from Western Province),10 percent for William Ruto (ethnic Kalenjin from Rift Valley Province) with Joseph Nyaga (Central Province) and Najib Balala (Coast Province) sharing the remaining two percent. (Note: Balala had withdrawn prior to the vote in favor of Raila.) Raila support was overwhelming from his native Nyanza Province and substantial everywhere else except Western Province. Mudavadi's support was entirely from his native Western Province. All four of Raila's ODM competitors conceded and supported Raila. Balala commented "Raila has in the past been a kingmaker. Today he is our King." Despite some sections of the press reporting that Mudavadi was tapped as Raila's running mate, in fact no one was named at the convention to fill that role. Raila called all the contenders to join him on stage and proclaimed that together they formed a "pentagon" that would collectively lead the party to victory. ¶7. (SBU) The convention was lively. Several witnesses confirmed to us that financial inducement of delegates was practiced by al ODM leaders. The ODM party machinery (dominated by pro-Raila, ethnic Luo, Nyanza Province officials) closely scrutinized delegations from Central and Eastern provinces, fearing external influence peddling by Kibaki (via the Central Province delegation) and Kalonzo (via the Eastern Province delegation). Raila and Mudavadi were observed in a local restaurant supervising their agents' activities and bargaining with one another until the early morning hours of the day of the convention. Post convention, Raila told Mudavadi supporters (according to a close Mudavadi aide) that Mudavadi would be his "Deputy Captain." The press and others interpret this to mean "Vice President in a Raila administration," but there has been no formal communication to this effect. Most observers doubt that Mudavadi would be able to deliver the fractured Western Province Luhya vote (see ref B). PolCounselor asked Raila if he had named Mudavadi as his VP. He replied "yes," and then changed the subject. ¶8. (SBU) ODM confidence is based on its success in defeating Kibaki 60/40 in the November 2005 national referendum on the draft constitution. We believe this confidence is misplaced. KANU was a member of the orange movement in 2005. It is now leaning decidedly in a pro-Kibaki direction. Moi personally supported the Orange "no" stance on the draft constitution, but his deep pockets will now be used to support Kibaki's re-election. Many voters who did not support the draft constitution do in fact support Kibaki as president. Kalonzo was part of the orange team in 2005, but is now running against Raila, so ODM cannot expect to keep the Kamba vote, which amounts to about 11 percent. ¶9. (SBU) Rala is a stirring speaker and has a compelling political biography, including a starring role in the fight to bring multiparty democracy to Kenya. His narrative of "the rich political elite have robbed Kenya long enough and now it is time for we the people to take over" resonates with much of Kenyan society. However, his reputation for demagoguery and political opportunism, past associations with far left politics and the '82 military coup attempt, and widespread cultural prejudice against Luos all inhibit his electabilty. Comment: For Now a 3-Way Race, Kibaki Still to Choose Party -------------- -------------- ¶10. (SBU) Kenya's national election campaign will formally begin once parliament is dissolved sometime in September (probably mid-month). The biggest unanswered question remains what party Kibaki will run under (NARC?, NARC-K?, DP?) and what alliances he will then forge (formal alliance with KANU?). The three contenders, Raila, Kalonzo and Kibaki NAIROBI 00003513 003 OF 003 were all allies in 2002 in the successful effort to expel KANU from State House. All three come from Kenya's traditional political elite. All three count among their supporters both reformers and unreconstructed political dinosaurs. No matter who wins, Kenya will not be governed in a dramatically different fashion under any of these three leaders. RANNEBERGER