ODM search for Raila’s running mate hots up

MONDAY, 24 SEPTEMBER 2012 00:11 BY MATHEWS NDANYI

ORANGE HOUSE: The ODM party headquarters in Nairobi.Photo/MONICAH MWANGI

ODM is set to appoint a technical committee to identify Prime Minister Raila Odinga's running-mate. The party is facing a headache in the search for the runningmate and its National Executive Committee has endorsed the move to have a special technical team to deal with the matter. The team will then present a report to the party’s top brass for deliberations within the next three month.

“The issue of runningmate is a real headache for ODM and other parties but we will deal with it through party organs as stated by the Prime Minister himself," said Roads Minister Franklin Bett. The technical team will look at the viability of all candidates interested in the position considering the value they will add to Raila’s candidacy. They will also be assessed on their individual strength within their regions of origin and in other parts of the country.

Issues of gender, integrity and other future plans for the party will also be considered. Yesterday, Bett admitted that competition between him and Industrialization minister Henry Kosgey for the position had complicated matters. “This runningmate issue is not as simple as we are playing with it. There are so many issues at play and my announcement that I was interested in the position was to gauge feelings from the people and the party,” said Bett.

He said the entry of Kosgey in the race also put the PM in a precarious position. He said the running mate position was largely an issue to be decided by the PM with assistance from his technical advisers and not a matter for a particular tribe or individual to push through rallies or the media.

He said if the position was to be given Kosgey who is from the North Rift region, then ODM stands to lose a lot of support from South Rift. He admitted that the matter was difficult for the party. Outside Rift Valley, Bett who candidly discussed the matter said Presidential aspirant Charity Ngilu would be the best suited for the position because of the gender value she would introduce and also her standing within the Eastern region and nationally. The running mate controversy has caused sharp differences between Bett and Kosgey and yesterday Assistant Minister Ayecho Olwenyi said the party would deal with the matter at the right time.