Kenyan Ruling-Party Rift Poses Policy-Making Risks, Fitch Says
Kenyan Ruling-Party Rift Poses Policy-Making Risks, Fitch Says
(Bloomberg) -- Tensions within Kenya’s ruling Jubilee Party following a rapprochement between President Uhuru Kenyatta and main opposition leader Raila Odinga risk undermining policy making in the country, Fitch Solutions Macro Research said.
Odinga’s party is expected to propose constitutional amendments that will introduce new positions in the executive and open it up to more opposition, the Fitch Group unit said in an emailed note. That could isolate Vice President William Ruto, it said.
“If this goes ahead, Ruto would have less authority,” it said. “Kenyatta has already had challenges summoning up support for fiscal reforms within his own party, and if he is perceived by his allies in the Jubilee Party to have been sidelined, he may motivate them to block legislation.”
Fitch Solutions said there’s the potential for greater instability around election time in 2022 because Kenyatta won’t be seeking re-election, having served his second and last term.
“As potential presidential candidates seek to throw their hat into the ring, personal rivalries are likely to lead to political posturing and politicians motivating civil unrest,” it said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Helen Nyambura in Nairobi at hnyambura@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Paul Richardson at pmrichardson@bloomberg.net, Hilton Shone
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