President William Ruto is expected to rally his Kenya Kwanza supporters on Tuesday to support a final list of five nominees to the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA).
This comes as it was revealed that the 15 nominees who were shortlisted for the five slots available for the ruling alliance have stepped up their game, with intense lobbying taking place.
The president is said to be eager to use the slots to improve regional balance in his administration by bringing in regions that are underrepresented in the executive.
The final list will be presented at State House on Tuesday, and members will be asked to support it before parliamentary voting on Thursday.
Former Kisii senatorial candidate Okeng’o Nyambane, who dropped out of the race in the last general election, is among those expected to make the final five.
President William Ruto persuaded him to drop out of the race and support then-gubernatorial candidate Ezekiel Machogu, now Education CS.
Ruto promised Nyambane a top job in the Ruto administration when he campaigned in the region, and now that he has missed out on both the CS and PS positions, he may make it to the Arusha Parliament.
Others include ex-Mombasa senator Hassan Omar, who failed in his bid to become Governor of Mombasa. He is said to have chosen EALA over PS.
Former United Republican Party Secretary General Fred Muteti, who worked closely with Ruto when he was URP leader, is also a candidate for the EALA position.
Muteti was forced to withdraw from the race for the Makueni parliamentary seat in the last election after being promised a job in the national government.
Former nominated senator Falhada Iman is also expected to be endorsed during Tuesday’s meeting at State House House Nairobi.
Rebecca Merikeju, who ran for the Turkana woman representative seat, is also on the final list, which has the approval of top UDA party leaders.
