CORD in nomination dilemma amid growing competition

“As a coalition we are in discussions to form a joint nomination board to carry out our primaries in some areas,” said Mr Mbadi.

He said the coalition would not allow for a fallout as “we are going to ensure we stick together as we devise a strategy of winning majority of seats in the 2017 polls.

ODM said there are also plans to zone the country so as to allow parties field candidates in areas where they enjoy massive support. But Wiper has ruled out the idea of zoning the country.

“There is a lot of discussion on how to navigate the issue in areas where we have multiple candidates. We however do not support zoning,” said Mr Omar, adding that “possibility of having a joint candidate is high.”

He said parties in the coalition would be free to field candidates in areas where their opponents would not have a competitive edge in the event the coalition fields multiple candidates.

In Mombasa and Kakamega, he said the coalition will either have a joint candidate or aspirants would meet in the ballot, saying the regions are CORD zones and would be difficult for the Opposition to lose to the ruling coalition.

“The two areas are CORD zones so our opponents cannot benefit even if we field multiple candidates,” said Omar. He said some governors have performed dismally, and supporting them in 2017 could result to a protest vote, therefore denying CORD a win.

Mbadi said in areas where all three partners enjoy strong support and have fielded equally competitive candidates, the coalition would use a research firm to identify most popular candidate.

“In some instances we will employ the use of scientific research to determine the most popular candidate for the coalition,” he said.

Wiper is planning to front Omar or Nyali MP Awiti Bolo (Wiper national treasurer) to unseat Governor Joho.

There is already a political duel that threatens to divide the coalition partners. The same is in Kakamega, where Governor Oparanya and Senator Khalwale are in a political face off. A senior ODM official who sought anonymity accused their partners of starting a war against the party’s governors.

“It is unfortunate that our coalition partners have started a political war with our governors. They also have governors but as ODM we have chosen to respect the partnership,” said the official.

The official claimed that ODM has more support in Bungoma than Ford Kenya but because of the partnership has chosen to give Wetang’ula room to run the show in the area.

“Mr Wetang’ula would have lost Bungoma seat to us if we had decided to field a candidate there,” went on the source. ODM has since zoned the country.

In its new elections and nominations rules, the party has placed Wajir, Garissa, Mandera, Marsabit, Isiolo, Kitui, Makueni, Machakos, Embu, Bomet, Kericho, Nakuru and Uasin Gishu counties as Zone A. These are areas where the party does not enjoy enough support.

ODM says it has a strong support base in Kakamega, Vihiga, Kwale, Busia, Kisumu, Migori, Homabay, Kisii, Narok, Kajiado, Lamu, Mombasa, Kilifi and Tana River counties, and would competitively field its candidates.

The party has categorised areas like Kiambu, Muranga, Tharaka Nithi, Baringo, Nyeri, Muranga, Meru, Nandi, Laikipia, Kirinyaga and  Elgeyo Marakwet counties as Zone C, areas they have little or no supporters.

The mistrust in the coalition is not new. During the Malindi by-election, Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka was forced to suspend his voter registration drive in the coast region over disquiet from ODM that he was not providing enough support in the campaigns.