ODM to reconstitute its elections board

By KEPHER OTIENO
The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) is set to reconstitute its National Elections Board (NEB), The Standard has reliably learnt.
This was part of the radical proposals reached during a recent ODM National Governing Council (NGC) members meeting held at the Bomas of Kenya.
It strongly emerged that majority of party members were not happy with the way the board had handled past and recent party nomination processes.
Of particular concern was the handling of the recent twin by-elections for Makadara and Starehe that saw the party reclaim only one seat.
Some members felt that instead of handing former Makadara MP Reuben Ndolo direct nominations, they ought to have held primaries.
This was because Gidion Mbuvi Kioko alias ‘Sonko’, who won the seat, had unsuccessfully sought the ODM ticket.
But a section of the outgoing board said they sympathised with Ndolo because he is the one who filed a petition and won.
Deserved nomination
ODM Secretary General Anyang’ Nyong’o defended them, saying Mr Ndolo deserved the nomination since he used his personal resources to file the petition.
Ndolo faced immediate former MP Dick Wathika of PNU, but surprisingly lost to Mbuvi, who was thought of as a political novice.
In Starehe, ODM’s Margaret Wanjiru was cleared to defend her seat against former minister Maina Kamanda of PNU, but here the party triumphed.
Bruised by the elections challenges, majority of ODM members now want the party to reconstitute a new board and they were frank with party leader Raila Odinga about this.
While the board is charged with the responsibility to conduct elections and maintain the electoral register of all party members, many fault them.
Delegates from Coast are said to have been particularly irked by the board, saying it had let the party down and was better dissolved.
According to NGC member Julius Okinda, suggestions by majority to dissolve the board was welcome. First, Okinda argued that some board members had already indicated they would run for the plum seats in the new 47 counties.
This amounted to conflict of interest and unfairness, which members were keen to address ahead of 2012.
For instance, delegates cited the current NEB chairman Philip Okundi, who has declared interest to run for the Governor’s slot in Homa Bay County. NEB Secretary General Joseph Misoi is also eyeing a county slot created by the new Constitution.
"How do you allow such persons to run a key election body if they themselves are interested parties," posed Okinda.
It is these concerns that drove party leader Raila Odinga to call for the board’s dissolution.
Hectic and rigorous
Again, some delegates tore at the party’s nomination process going back to the 2007 General Election, saying it was poorly done.
"We didn’t do any better, yet the then board headed by Justice Otieno Kwach was given millions of shillings to conduct the exercise," claimed Ochieng Mbeo.
Mr Mbeo is a former member of East African Legislative Assembly and former member of NEB Nyanza, who presided over primaries in 2002.
He recalled how he handled the 2002 ODM primaries, saying it was hectic, rigorous and gruelling.
"The current board members are lucky that they have a vote head. For us we did it out of sacrifice for the party, but even did better than our successors," Mbeo says.
In the wake of the envisaged developments, party stalwarts now want ODM nominations to be handled by an autonomous reputable electoral body. This, many argue, would redeem the diminished confidence in the party primaries and attract credible candidates in 2012.
"Many credible leaders always shy away from the party because of the rigorous and chaotic nominations," said ODM Nyanza national co-ordinator Monica Amollo.
Therefore, attempts to explore and mandate an independent body to help the party conduct its primaries is a fabulous and welcome idea, she said.
ODM Chief Whip Jakoyo Midiwo and Gwasi MP John Mbadi concurred, but with reservations.
"Our party is bruised by claims of unfairness. Let us try a new body in 2012 to redeem our image and borrow a leaf (from the past)," said Mbadi.
The leaders’ concerns resonate with that of the delegates who felt that ODM must take the concerns seriously if it is to re-invent itself effectively.
Other issues were that youth and women representatives be given slots in the NGC through an electoral grassroots process.
Complaints were rife that some MPs breached party rules because of the lacuna in the party’s Constitution.
In fact, the NGC resolved that the party would no longer sell party cards directly to the MPs in the wake of the new changes.
Instead, members unanimously agreed that the cards would be sold at all the current ODM branch offices in the 210 constituencies.
In the wake of radical changes lined up in the party, true democracy is likely to resurface in ODM.