By MAURICE KALUOCH newsdesk@ke.nationmedia.com ( email the author)
Posted Sunday, February 10 2013 at 20:19
Posted Sunday, February 10 2013 at 20:19
In Summary
- Crowds at rallies defied the Cord presi-dential candidate and heckled his preferred contenders
That ODM’s self-inflicted wounds in Nyanza are yet to heal came out openly during Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s tour of the region.
Crowds at rallies defied the Cord presidential candidate and heckled his preferred candidates for various positions.
This is unheard of in a region where support for Mr Odinga is the highest nationally.
In Homa Bay, where there were widespread protests against the party’s primaries, police had to intervene to disperse a hostile crowd in a rally attended by the PM.
Immigration minister Otieno Kajwang, who got the party’s nod to contest the senate seat against a strong grassroots wave, was heckled off the podium.
And in Siaya county where the nominations debacle involved his brother Oburu Oginga, the Prime Minister was told No to his face when he asked that voters elect ODM candidates.
Dr Oginga went head to head with youthful William Oduol for the governor’s ticket. Dr Oginga was declared winner amid protests by Oduol and his supporters.
In the end, both missed the ticket which went to third-placed Rasanga Amoth.
Oduol defected to the National Agenda Party while Dr Oginga will be nominated to Parliament.
In Gem, Jakoyo Midiwo, another relative of the PM was given the ticket amid claims that his rival, Mr Elisha Ochieng’, had won.
Last week’s was the first visit to the region by Mr Odinga since the disputed nominations.
It was meant to pacify ODM supporters and convince them to fall in line behind party candidates.
But what came out instead is that whereas Mr Odinga’s presidential vote may be safe, all the other positions are up for grabs.
There will be no six-piece voting here. His call for “six-piece” voting pattern attracted open hostility from crowds.
Many of the aspirants who felt short-changed in ODM crossed over to Cord affiliate parties including Ford Kenya, Peoples Democratic Party and Wiper Democratic Movement.
But Mr Odinga has been pushing for voters in Nyanza to ignore these candidates.
It is obvious that this could cause friction even in the post-election period as the allies jostle for influence.
Vice President
Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka who was campaigning In Western already took issue with what he called a move by the Orange party to sideline other coalition partners in its campaigns.
He said “side-lining other parties in the campaigns would cost CORD and its presidential candidate”.
In the past elections, Mr Odinga has managed to galvanise the Luo vote in a pattern referred to as three-piece suit, where they voted the president, MP and councillors from the same party.
His alliance with Ford Kenya and Wiper has however dimmed the notion that whoever is picked on the Odinga-led political party can as well start operating like a real election winner.
Mr Tom Mboya, a political scientist from Maseno University says that the competition of parties within the same alliance is good for democracy as it gives the electorate an option of choosing leaders of their choice.
But he says the move by any of the principals to prefer candidates from their own parties would not only breed mistrust but commence the beginning of a protracted power battle.
“The electorate must be allowed to choose their own leaders so that the alliance can grow. Free and fair completion among the parties will help the alliance and avoid mistrust and suspicions,” argues Mr Mboya.
According to a Nyanza civil society activist Mr Collins Okoth, whereas the PM will have his presidential vote intact, it will be no surprise to get candidates elected on parties other than ODM.
“The electorate is wiser and more informed and they have seen it in other parts of the country that electing a good leader irrespective of the party is very productive.”
But Mr Okoth warns that the effect of ODM’s botched nominations could also eat into the PMs core vote basket.
“The nominations were a sham to say the least. In some places they never took place at all. This could attract a lot of apathy as the voters will feel that they are endorsing products of a flawed process,” says Mr Okoth.
Majority of the aspirants contesting with the CORD affiliate parties in the counties of Migori, Homa Bay and Siaya were emphatic that it would amount to betrayal for the ODM leaders to turn around and insist on the six piece suit voting pattern.
The PM’s close lieutenants that included ministers James Orengo (lands), Dalmas Otieno (Public service), Fred Gumo (Regional Development) and Otieno Kajwang (Immigration) had stirred the storm during the campaign in Nyanza by insisting that the only way for Mr Odinga to be safe if he ascends to the presidency is by voting in ODM candidates.
The remarks did not however go down well with majority of the candidates with the CORD affiliate parties that were in attendance.
They included an aspirant for the gubernatorial position in Migori County Okoth Obado of People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and veteran politician, Oluoch Kanindo who is vying for the senatorial position as an Independent.
Most of the candidates on the CORD affiliate parties want the voters to decide who clinches the various seats after they were “rigged” out at nominations.
In Homa Bay County, the various groups allied to ODM and those from CORD affiliate parties engaged in a shouting match during a rally at the Homa Bay High School grounds.
But according to former Nyakach MP Peter Odoyo, the protests are largely against the shambolic primaries as opposed to a direct protest against Mr Odinga.
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