Running-mate choice boosts Odinga’s Kenya poll hopes

Significance

Opposition leader Raila Odinga’s choice of the independent-minded and high-profile Martha Karua appears to have given him an electoral boost at the expense of Deputy President William Ruto, whose choice -- Geoffrey Rigathi Gachagua -- is less well known.

Impacts

• Having two Kikuyu running mates reduces poll violence risks, as it incentivises leaders to dampen Luo-Kikuyu or Kalenjin-Kikuyu tensions.
• Gachagua’s selection will intensify fears about the potential for corruption under a Ruto administration.
• Karua’s selection offers Odinga’s Azimio coalition an important opportunity to energise a stagnating campaign.