Relief for UDA governor candidate as IEBC clears her to face Orengo
Siaya County gubernatorial candidate Millicent Oduor. She will fly the UDA flag in the upcoming polls.
Ms Millicent Oduor, the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) aspirant for Siaya governor, was finally cleared by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) after a tribunal allowed her to choose another running mate.
Ms Oduor’s candidacy was revoked just hours after she was cleared, when county returning officer Catherine Bulinda discovered that her running mate, Ms Goretty Atieno, had not resigned from her job at the Teachers Service Commission (TSC).
The law requires all government employees to resign at least six months before elections.
She is the only female candidate contesting the seat that has attracted four candidates.
“After review the IEBC tribunal gave her a chance to choose another running mate after Ms Atieno was disqualified. She is now free to campaign as she is the official candidate for the UDA party,” said Ms Bulinda.
The IEBC has cleared three other candidates to contest the county’s top seat – Mr Nicholas Gumbo (UDM), Mr James Orengo (ODM) and Mr William Ochieng (independent).
It has also cleared seven candidates to contest the woman representative seat.
They include the incumbent, Dr Christine Ombaka (ODM), former radio personality Ms Sella Ayimba (MDG), Ms Maslister Oudia (Kanu) and Ms Beth Dundee (Kenya National Congress).
Others are Ms Pamela Ogoma (UDA) and Ms Mildred Ochieng (independent).
For the Senate seat, the electoral body has cleared six candidates, who will battle to succeed Senator Orengo, who is running for governor.
They include Mr James Wamban (MDG), Dr Oburu Oginga (ODM) and Mr Oscar Onyango (DAP-K). The others are Mr Julius Okinda, Mr Tony Yogo and Rev Ismael Atudo, who are running as independents.
Independent candidates and those from fringe parties have been campaigning on the slogan “ng’ad inywandi”, which means mix and match the candidates while electing them.
Speaking to journalists earlier after being cleared to contest, Mr Orengo urged voters to consider six-piece voting, which means electing only ODM candidates.
“When Raila Odinga will form the government in August, he will need to have very loyal soldiers and this will be the ODM elected leaders,” he said.
“This will allow the bills to pass and also ease implementation of the government’s policies in the counties.”
There are two main political groups in Siaya: one led by Mr Gumbo, the former Rarieda lawmaker, and the pro-Orengo wing. The former is composed of fringe parties and independent candidates and the latter is mainly made up of ODM supporters.
Now that they have been given the green light to campaign, a major showdown is expected in Siaya, with Mr Odinga planning to visit his home county on June 18.
