THE BALLOT: ODM leader Raila Odinga with Anyang Nyong'o at a press conference on January 15.
ODM Leader Raila Odinga is understood to have told his close confidants that he will not favour anyone in the forth coming party elections.
"Raila has made it clear that everybody for himself and party members for all of us. In other words he has said he will not favour anyone," said an MP known to be close to Raila
Raila has been under pressure from Luo Nyanza MPs who want him to preserve the position of Secretary General and that of the vice chairman.
But several aides to the former PM told the Star yesterday that Raila has made it clear he will go by the choices party members will make.
"He has told Luo Nyanza MPs that there's nothing special about them and that they should campaign like anyone else," said one of the aides known to be very close to Raila.
Yesterday Ababu Namwamba who is gunning for the position of Secretary-General also told Luo Nyanza MPs that ODM was a national party and it had many supporters across the country.
The battle for ODM national positions Luo Nyanza has taken a new dimension as some of the current MPs in Luo Nyanza say it is about the nomination certificates in 2017.
The buzzword is that as Raila goes for his third presidential bid, he is likely to leave the competition wide open and may not listen to them as he did in 2007 and 2013 nominations that ended in chaos. The MPs are aligning themselves with those promising them nomination certificates.
An MP who did not want his identity revealed said that Kisumu Central Ken Obura who is contesting the secretary general position has promised the MPs free nomination certificates after the 2017 ODM nominations. Obura has since denied the allegations.
“He is assuring the sitting MPs that if they back him as SG, they are assured of their nomination certificates. The idea of free certificates appeals to a number of Luo MPs because getting the ODM papers is more than halfway to parliament. But many of them know their hold is shaky and their victory in 2013 nominations was questionable,” the MP said.
However, Suba MP John Mbadi who is also vying for the secretary general position dismissed those behind the scheme as being ignorant of the party structures. He said that the elections board and the secretariat needs to be reformed and restructured.
“Unless those speaking don’t know how the party operates. I know that in the last elections the nomination certificates were issued by the party’s national elections board. The signature of the SG was not there and things have not changed ahead of 2017!” said Mbadi. He said that the SG only submitted to the country’s electoral agency.
“The Mzee from rift valley called Keittany together with Mugambi Imanyara who was the chairman and then SG Tony Chege signed the papers in 2007. Those who think that they will be given the papers for free are in for a rude shock,” he said.
Ugunja MP Opiyo Wandayi also dismissed the campaign trick as unfortunate and myopic. “We should be thinking of constituting the party as an instrument of good governance not for political opportunists. It is only committed members who will ensure free and fair polls. Those who have offered their candidatures must be evaluated on the basis of their ideological orientation that is important to the party,” Wandayi said. But opinion is still divided whether he actually beat his rival in Kisumu Central. Others in this camp share similar challenges back at home and would fear to be subjected to competitive nominations.
Those alleged to be backing Obura are MPs Agostino Neto (Ndhiwa), Milly Odhiambo (Mbita) and Sylvan Osele (Kabondo Kasipul) among others.
“Their performance has been wanting both in and outside Parliament, something Raila has raised with them in a number of meetings. At one meeting in the house of Nyando MP Fred Outa about a month ago, Raila asked these MPs whether they are in opposition or in government,” said another MP who did not want to be named.
“Raila has instructed grassroots leaders to monitor the performance of MPs and be filing reports to party headquarters on how they articulate party agenda at the constituency and people’s feelings about their performance in parliament,” he said.
The MPs are said to have sensed danger when Raila defied them in the Siaya governor’s by election. It is said that some wanted William Oduol to team up with Rasanga which would have meant Rasanga dropping his running mate in the first contest.
Others came up with the idea that both Oduol and Rasanga be dropped and Oduor Ongwen be picked for the seat. However, it is said that Raila defied them and backed Rasanga on the ground that he had won the seat and the party had no reason to drop him in a by election.
Those who feel Obura stands no chance have been quietly backing Orengo who never declared interest but has now openly declined the offer.
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