NAIROBI, Kenya, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- Members of Kenya's ruling coalition have rebelled against the president's plans to scrap its constituent parties, the BBC said Tuesday.
President Mwai Kibaki said the coalition is now obsolete and called for grassroots elections to transform it into a single party. But his political partners say the future of the year-long coalition cannot be determined by an individual.
The 16 parties united at the behest of Kenyans to end the 24-year-rule of former President Daniel arap Moi.
The Liberal Democratic Party, a main partner in the coalition, challenged Kibaki to first dissolve his Democratic Party.
"We are dismayed that the statement attributed to the president suggests that he can unilaterally decide fundamental issues on behalf of all political parties in the Narc coalition," LDP general secretary Joseph Kamotho told the BBC.
The LDP's most prominent figure and Minister for Public Works, Raila Odinga, said the National Rainbow Coalition was formed by a memorandum of understanding and so could only be dissolved through negotiations.
