Deputy prime minister Musalia Mudavadi. Photo/FILE
By NATION REPORTER
Posted Wednesday, April 11 2012 at 22:30
Posted Wednesday, April 11 2012 at 22:30
The dispute over election rules in the Orange Democratic Movement escalated on Wednesday after Deputy Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi termed as a betrayal the party’s failure to amend its constitution before applying for registration.
In a statement to newsrooms, Mr Mudavadi said Tuesday’s move by the party’s top officials to submit the constitution to the Registrar of Political Parties had created uncertainty and apprehension among members.
“Most of the appeals suggest that members and officials of ODM feel their desires for democratic processes within the party have been betrayed by failure to amend the contentious clause and others in the party constitution to allow for fair nomination at all levels within the party,” Mr Mudavadi said through his spokesman Kibisu Kabatesi.
Whereas the Mudavadi faction wants the rules amended by the National Governing Council and the National Delegates Conference, Mr Odinga’s allies argue that there is no time for that and that the old rules should be filed for purposes of beating the April 30 deadline and amended later.
Speaking at the Tuesday function, ODM secretary-general Anyang’ Nyong’o sought to allay the fears of Mr Mudavadi’s supporters by giving the registrar of Political Parties notice of the party’s intention to amend the constitution.
He explained that once the amendments are agreed upon, they would be ratified by the National Governing Council and the National Delegates Conference.
Meanwhile, the party’s National Executive Council meeting planned for this week hangs in the balance after a team of lawyers tasked with drafting amendments to the party’s constitution failed to meet on Tuesday.
The legal team’s leader Mugambi Imanyara however, downplayed the matter on Wednesday, saying, they would meet in a week to draft the changes.
“There is absolutely no urgency or emergency to warrant our meeting over the Easter holiday to prepare amendments that will not become effective until after one or so months,” Mr Imanyara said on phone on Wednesday.
Prof Nyong’o last week directed the team to fast-track the amendments so that they could be reviewed during this week’s meeting before being forwarded to the National Governing Council and the National Delegates Conference for formal ratification.
“The legal team will work over the Easter holiday to prepare the amendments so that they can be presented to the NEC at our next meeting,” Prof Nyong’o had stated.
Lack of quorum
The party’s national executive officer Janet Ong’era declined to state when the National Executive Council meeting would be held instead referring Nation to Prof Nyong’o who could not be reached on his cell phone.
Mr Imanyara said he cancelled the legal team’s meeting due to lack of quorum.
“Some of our members were still upcountry after the Easter festivities, others accompanied party leaders to present our documents to the Registrar of Political Parties while some escorted Jakoyo Midiwo to the CID headquarters, so I had to call off the meeting. It is not late, we will meet any time,” he said.
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