Party elections will be a litmus test for ODM; Namwamba

Ababu Namwamba

By NIKKO TANUI

Kericho, Kenya: Four Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) members of Parliament and a governor have told the party’s National Elections Board that the Friday elections will be a litmus test for the party.

Legislators Ababu Namwamba (Budalang’i) Aden Keynan (Eldas) John Waluke (Sirisia) Simon Ogari (Bomachoge) and Turkana governor Josphat Nanok said  the party has no option but to use the secret ballot.

“Anything else will rob ODM of any moral authority to complain about Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) bungling of the 2013 general election or any other electoral process because you cannot engage in an electoral fraud and purport to complain against it,” Namwamba said.

The group spoke in a Kericho hotel when they met delegates drawn from Kericho, Bomet, Nakuru and Baringo counties, during one of their last leg of campaigns before the much anticipated party elections.

Namwamba claimed  that in 2007 and 2013 General Election, ODM’s victory was stolen and during the  election petition at the Supreme Court he led demonstrations where party members wore T-shirts printed with the words, Democracy On Trial  and reminded  the party  that, democracy in the party will be put under the test at Kasarani on Friday.

The Budalangi MP added that if the party leadership truly believes in democracy, they had no option but to conduct a free, fair and credible election, and only allow genuine party delegates to participate in the election.

Namwamba claimed that the party leader Raila Odinga was surrounded by “bad” leaders and the election will be a chance for them to be weeded out in order for him to stand a real chance of capturing the presidency that has eluded him for years.

“Raila Odinga is a general with only one bullet left in his gun and in the 2017 election he either hits the bull’s-eye or miss the target, that is why he must be surrounded by new batch of generals who will ensure that he hits the bull’s-eye in 2017,” Namwamba said.

 On his part, Nanok appealed to the ODM delegates to vote for Hassan Joho, Namwamba and himself saying it was the best group that would ensure that Raila wins the presidential race in the 2017 general election.

Nonetheless, the Turkana county governor appealed to the former Prime Minister not to interfere but give the delegates a free hand to choose their new crop of party leaders.

“Raila is also a candidate seeking votes in the election and he should step aside and give the party delegates a free hand to pick their new crop of leaders,” Nanok said.

Sirisia  MP John Waluke said if the team is elected they would ensure that the Sh63 million the party receives from the Registrar of political parties to fund party activities finds it ways to the grassroots.

Aldas MP Aden Keynan said their team will manage to revamp the party and popularise it in its former strong holds especially in Rift Valley where it was brushed aside by the United Republican Party (URP) wave.

Other ODM candidates who spoke during the meeting included Stella Koech who is eying the national organizing secretary post alongside Rosa Akinyi Buyo.