ODM undeterred by elections loss sets its eye on 2022

ODM leader Raila Odinga and candidate Irshrad Sumra during the Embakasi south Constituency campaigns. [Emanuel Wanson/Standard]

Days after registering twin losses in by-elections, ODM has moved to put its house in order in preparation for the 2022 General Election.

The party is seeking new strategies to strengthen its support base at the grassroots level.

ODM Chairman John Mbadi yesterday asked party supporters to remain patient as leaders try to figure out what led to the losses in Ugenya and Embakasi South constituencies.

"This is obviously going to be a pretty tough job, but we will try. The by-elections were pretty scary and daunting but they (provided an) eye-opening experience," the Suba South legislator told The Standard yesterday.

He said ODM would be restructured to strengthen its electoral process and grassroots leadership.

One of the issues it seeks to address is the chaos witnessed during party nominations in every election cycle.

Mr Mbadi said the party planned to adopt one of the best nomination methods to pick candidates for various elective positions as part of a winning formula for the 2022 elections.

Sources told The Standard that ODM was keen on avoiding past nomination mistakes that cost them dearly in successive general elections.

Speaking separately, ODM Secretary General Edwin Sifuna claimed results of the two by-elections were proof that the party was unable to translate huge turnouts in campaign rallies to votes.

"We might have only been carried away by the turnout at public rallies. But it is a wake-up call. We could have managed the campaign better to remain strong," he said.

Mr Sifuna told ODM supporters not to belabour the party over the loss but confront the challenges and address them.

In 2017 ODM, nominations were marred by chaos and outright rigging, leaving some candidates dejected. Some even defected to fringe parties.

The party also did not manage to get as many National Assembly, Senate and governors seats as was the case in the previous General Election.

ODM has a total of 76 MPs - elected and nominated – in the National Assembly, compared to other Nasa affiliate parties such as Wiper’s 23, ANC 14 and Ford-Kenya’s 13.

In the Senate, ODM has 20 senators, compared to three each for Wiper and ANC, with Moses Wetang’ula as the only one affiliated to Ford-Kenya.

Jubilee has 140 MPs of the 290 constituencies, as compared to ODM, which dominated the parliamentary leadership during the reigns of former President Mwai Kibaki.

Of concern to ODM now is the sheer fact that even if its number is added to that of its National Super Alliance (Nasa) affiliates, Jubilee numbers still outweigh them.

Nasa has ANC, Chama cha Mashinani (CCM), ODM, Wiper Democratic Movement-Kenya and the Ford-Kenya. The coalition has a total 127 MPs in the National Assembly.

The Jubilee coalition has at least seven parties that supported President Uhuru Kenyatta’s re-election bid in the last General Election.

They are Kanu, Maendeleo Chap Chap, Economic Freedom Party, the Democratic Party, Party of Development and Reform and the Party of National Unity.

Lumped together, Jubilee enjoys a stable control of least 193 MPs, including the Speaker of the House Justin Muturi. This has given Jubilee a competitive edge over Opposition parties.

Mbadi told The Standard in a candid interview that ODM was keen to increase its national representation come next General Election.

"ODM wants to change the leadership of Parliament by creating more electoral reforms and people-centred democratic values. It's not easy, but we are working on it,” he said.

Sources hinted at the possibility of launching new nomination rules and mode of choosing candidates devoid of rancour to appease more.

This comes as it emerged that the ODM leadership was not content with the current representation of the party in the Senate and National Assembly. ODM, well aware it lost seats in Western, Coast, Rift Valley, Eastern and Nairobi, wants to trace where the "rain started beating us" to fix the problem.