ODM officials to screen delegates’ list

By GEOFFREY MOSOKU and JAMES MBAKA

NAIROBI, KENYA: ODM Executive Director Margarer Lang’at has said the party’s National Elections Board (NEB) has put in place mechanisms to hold the Friday party elections through secret ballot.

Mr Lang’at made the announcement amid claims that some party bigwigs want the elections to be held through acclamation.

Lang’at, who sits at the NEB as an ex-official member insisted that the body had stepped up preparations for the elections.

“It is all systems go on Friday and I want to affirm that accredited delegates will have an opportunity to elect their national officials by secret ballot and no amendments have been proposed for otherwise,” Margarer said.

Meanwhile, former Prime Minister Raila Odinga will Wednesday meet ODM leaders from the 47 counties summoned to party headquarters to scrutinise the list of delegates who will vote in Friday’s party elections.

NEB has invited the chairpersons from the 47 branches to Orange House, Nairobi, to vet the delegates’ register and confirm the names of delegates they had submitted.

Rival factions have, however, clashed over the proposal to create new positions that will be considered by the National Delegates Convention (NDC) prior to the vote.

A group allied to Budalangi MP Ababu Namwamba, who is gunning for the position of Secretary General, dismissed the proposal endorsed by the party’s National Governing Council (NGC) to create nine new positions.

Namwamba has teamed up with Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho, who is contesting the deputy party leader’s position, which is among those earmarked for split, and Turkana Governor Josphat Nanok, who is vying the Chairman’s post.

The group insisted that the polls cannot be postponed and demanded for a free and fair exercise through secret ballot.

Members allied to the rival camp coalescing around nominated Senator Agnes Zani, who is fighting for the Secretary General’s post, has defended the creation of new posts saying it is to foster unity.

Lang’at said NEB has convened Wednesday’s meeting with branch chairpersons to verify and scrutinise the delegates’ register.

“The meeting has been convened by myself and the board to look at the list of delegates and for the branch officials to verify the names they provided, as those are the names to be in the register of voters,” Lang’at told The Standard.

The meeting is also expected to address some claims that branch officials have been soliciting money from those wishing to attend the elections especially in replacing the dead and those who have quit the party.

For two weeks, the branch officials have been verifying the delegates register and replacing the names of those who could have either quit the party or died to meet the required number of the representatives who will choose new leaders.

Last week, NGC under the leadership of Raila adopted a more enhanced leadership structure by creating nine more positions to be tabled before the NDC. If adopted the NGC will have the mandate to fill the positions after Friday’s elections to cater for regional, gender and other diversity issues.

Under the new structure, there will be two deputies in each of the party leader, chairman and secretary general’s positions and three deputy-organising secretaries. Strong opposition from a faction of aspirants led by Mr Joho, Mr Nanok and Mr Namwamba as well as Simon Ogari seeking the treasurer’s position want the delegates to reject the amendments to create the nine positions.

Nanok said: “When we go to Kasarani, we expect to elect one party leader, one deputy party leader, one chairman, one vice chairman, one secretary general in that order, not two as some have suggested.”

Kitutu Chache South MP Richard Onyonka warned against expanding positions to accommodate individuals who lose in polls, saying the plan will bring more confusion.

“If ODM as an opposition party is looking so disjointed and confused over party elections, how is the party prepared to deal with critical issues affecting Kenyans as a major opposition? We cannot be creating positions for anyone simply because they’re vying,” Mr Onyonka retorted.

Migori Woman Representative Denittah Ghati allied to Zani’s camp said the nine slots should not be construed to depict the party leader as a coward but rather as an effort to ensure the party meets gender, regional and generational requirements.