Nomination dispute rocks ODM

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By BERNARD NAMUNANE bnamunane@ke.nationmedia.com AND OTIENO OWIDA otienoowida@yahoo.com
Posted  Sunday, February 5  2012 at  20:41

IN SUMMARY

• Raila wants aspirant to be picked at delegates conference while Mudavadi prefers selection at county level

A row has erupted in ODM over the level at which delegates will nominate the party’s presidential candidate.

The dispute pits close allies of Prime Minister Raila Odinga and Deputy Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi.

The two leaders are fighting to secure the party’s ticket for State House in the next General Election. (READ: Raila, Mudavadi rivalry rattles ODM)

Mr Odinga, as his confidants have publicly stated, appears to favour the national delegates conference (NDC) in Nairobi while Mr Mudavadi is pushing for nominations at the county level.

At the weekend, coalition government joint chief whip Jakoyo Midiwo, a close ally of the PM, insisted that nomination of the party’s presidential candidate will be done at the NDC.

Mr Midiwo said the force behind calls to conduct the presidential nomination at county level by party delegates is scheming to short-change Mr Odinga. He, however, said that if nomination has to be done at county level, it should involve all people at the grassroots. (READ: ODM primaries for top seat to be done in counties)

Mr Midiwo said he is not fearing that the PM could lose to Mr Mudavadi but was only being cautious of external interference. “We are not going to entertain any of these shenanigans who may be working with enemies of the party to wreak havoc and succeed in short-changing the party leader,” he said.

But Mr Mudavadi, who is also the Local Government minister, differs, saying that his push for nominations at the county level was a proposal that has been approved by the party’s national executive council and MPs.

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“We are developing nomination rules and this is what we are putting forward. We want it evaluated on its merits and demerits,” he said.

He explained: “ODM is committed to a devolved system and wants more  democratic space  for voters to nominate presidential candidates through secret ballot  in each  county in Kenya.”

He assured ODM party delegates that nominating and picking presidential candidates at county level had worked very well in America.

Apparently, the proposal to hold presidential nominations at the county level was mooted in 2010 during a national executive council and parliamentary group meeting in Naivasha.