Pick woman from Mt Kenya as running mate, Waiguru urges Ruto

Kirinyaga Governor Anne Waiguru wants Deputy President William Ruto to pick a woman from Mount Kenya region as his running mate in the August 9 presidential election for gender balance.

She said that a running mate from Mount Kenya will give the DP an easy ride as the region has a high number of voters.

“I hope Ruto will pick his running mate from Mount Kenya region because the area has a high number of votes to propel him to presidency," she said Tuesday during an interview with Spice FM.

The Kirinyaga governor stressed that although DP Ruto has the prerogative to pick his running mate, she would be glad to deputise him.

"What I know is that the decision on who will be the running mate of the UDA flag bearer lies with Dr Ruto. The only issue of concern is where that running mate will come from. The discussion is that that person should come from Mount Kenya region,” Ms Waiguru said.

Game of numbers

She reiterated that politics is a game of numbers and that UDA is optimistic of winning the August elections.

She said that Dr Ruto is the best person to succeed President Uhuru Kenyatta as he understands well how the government is run.

Governor Waiguru is among leaders whose names have featured prominently as possible running mates for presidential candidates.

"I think it would be a great honour to be picked as UDA running mate, but right now all my efforts are focused on defending the gubernatorial seat," she said.

The governor said that she would respect DP Ruto's choice of a running mate.

She said that UDA has initiated several deliberate initiatives to help bridge the gender gap in representation by encouraging more women to vie for political seats.

At the same time, she reiterated that her decision to join UDA was informed by Kirinyaga voters.

"The people of Kirinyaga said they are satisfied with my development work.  However, they said they wouldn’t re-elect me unless I joined UDA. I had to bow to the pressure of the residents who are voters," she said.

Ms Waiguru insisted that UDA is the most popular political party in Mt Kenya and anybody saying otherwise is lying to himself or herself.

"I have listened to the views of the residents and it is very clear that the party which is most popular is UDA and the residents' presidential candidate of choice is Ruto," she said.