Raila pushes for overhaul of ODM elections board
ODM leader Raila Odinga at Kyandoni Primary School grounds in Kabati, Kitui West, on October 13, 2023.
What you need to know:
- Some of the board members are said to be engaged in other jobs, denying them time for party activities.
- A party said the new officials should be in office as soon as possible to allow them prepare for the planned party elections.
Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) leader Raila Odinga is pushing for an overhaul of the party’s National Elections Board (NEB) as he begins to revamp the outfit in readiness for the 2027 polls.
The party is said to have resolved to kick out the current officials before installing another team to supervise its grassroots elections scheduled for the first quarter of next year.
The decision was made last week when the party held a National Executive Council (NEC) meeting amid blame games over bungled party primaries in the 2022 polls. Some of the board members are also said to be engaged in other jobs, denying them time for party activities.
“We agreed the board needs to be reconstituted. We are looking for new commissioners and will announce the new board when the process is done,” ODM Secretary-General Edwin Sifuna said.
Another party official told Daily Nation that the new officials should be in office as soon as possible to allow them prepare for the planned party elections to be conducted by March next year.
But National Assembly Minority Leader Opiyo Wandayi said the meeting did not exhaustively discuss the matter, disclosing that another meeting will be held to make a final decision.
Currently, the party’s NEB is chaired by nominated senator Catherine Mumma.
Other members of the board are Abdulahi Diriye, Richard Tairo, Syntei Nchoe and Emily Awita.
It is not the first time the outfit is questioning its internal systems in the running of party primaries. Ms Mumma was brought in after the 2017 polls to clean up the mess in the party primaries.
ODM formed a five-member team that comprised Ms Mumma, Prof Lawrence Gumbe, Alfelt Mumbo, Abio Gunda and Irshad Sumra to review the previous election cycle and provide a path for more credible party primaries.
In its report, the team said the past party primaries did not meet the threshold of a free and credible election.
Mr Odinga would in 2020 dismiss the Judy Pareno-led team and installed Ms Mumma to lead the board.
In July, Mr Odinga chaired a stormy Central Management Committee to discuss the performance of the party in past general elections, with top officials said to have raised misgivings with the board.
It emerged, during the meeting, that some of the voting gadgets did not have security safeguards to prevent rigging. Some of the candidates are said to have colluded with party poll officials and took away the gadgets, then proceeded to vote for themselves.
Some members were also infuriated by the issuance of direct tickets to a majority of MPs who were defending their seats.
The dishing out of direct tickets was also widespread in the senate and governor race, especially in Nyanza and Western regions. Some members feel this could have disenfranchised some voters in the region.
