Story by BERNARD NAMUNANE
Publication Date: 8/22/2007
The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) will pick its presidential candidate by secret ballot on September 1, though doubts persist over how the party will select its delegates.
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| Some of the leaders eyeing the ODM presidential ticket. They are from left: Mr Musalia Mudavadi, Mr Joe Nyaga, Mr Raila Odinga, Mr WIlliam Ruto and Mr Najib Balala. ODM will pick its flagbearer on September 1. Photo/FILE |
As ODM leaders said on Tuesday that branch officials would automatically become delegates, their rival, Mr Kalonzo Musyoka, was claiming the same group as the bona fide representatives of his ODM Kenya Party.
And in an effort to raise funds for the ODM conference to be held at Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani, the presidential hopefuls, who had already paid a nomination fee of Sh1 million, will be required to cough up an additional Sh500,000.
Choice of delegates
Signs that the choice of delegates could become a thorny issue were evident as supporters of ODM presidential hopeful Musalia Mudavadi from Western Province insisted that only genuine delegates should participate in choosing the candidate to face President Kibaki in the December General Election.
The ODM caucus will be held only a day after one by the Musyoka-led ODM-K delegates’ conference, which will also select the party’s presidential candidate. Twenty ODM officials from each of the 210 constituencies will form the electoral college that will elect the party’s candidate.
However, it was not immediately clear how the party — which the Raila Odinga group took over barely a week ago — will manage to have officials in each constituency.
But to allay fears over this, the leaders announced that ODM-K branch officials would automatically move to the new party.
The delegates will also name a team to lead the opposition party into the elections.
The delicate arrangement was endorsed yesterday by the party’s National Executive Council meeting at Orange House, Nairobi. The meeting also nearly put to an end hopes of re-uniting with Mwingi North MP Musyoka, who is now firmly in control of ODM-K.
Acclamation
ODM leaders were torn between adopting voting by acclamation, which was popularised by the former Kanu regime and the secret ballot during their special National Delegates Conference at Kasarani, Nairobi.
In the race for the ODM ticket are Lang’ata MP Odinga, his Eldoret North counterpart, Mr William Ruto, Mvita’s Najib Balala, Gachoka MP Joseph Nyaga and Mr Mudavadi.
Speaking after the NEC meeting, which was attended by four presidential aspirants, ODM Secretary-General Peter Anyang’ Nyong’o said: “This meeting has confirmed that the elections at Kasarani will be by secret ballot. Initially, there were suggestions that delegates decide the system to use on the floor of the venue.”
Prof Nyong’o allayed fears that they would use the acclamation method, a decision that had created discomfort among the presidential hopefuls.
“The reports which have appeared in the media today (yesterday) are wrong. If anything, it was to be determined by the delegates but the NEC has moved to correct that wrong impression,” he said.
Mr Odinga, Mr Ruto, Mr Mudavadi and Mr Balala, other NEC members and MPs allied to the party met to prepare for the delegates’ conference two days after a key meeting in Eldoret where key decisions were made after high-profile negotiations.
The negotiations on how ODM should pick a team that can win the elections involved elders from Rift Valley communities and their counterparts from Western Kenya.
Sources said it was at that meeting that the elders resolved to support the winner at Kasarani. They also bound the leaders from quitting the party after the presidential nominations.
They set up a technical team led by Emuhaya MP Kenneth Marende to work out a possible winning team, and it emerged that Mr Odinga was the favourite presidential candidate with Mr Mudavadi as prime minister and Mr Ruto as vice-president.
Luhya elders, it was said, felt that Mr Mudavadi, a former Sabatia MP, should take the premier’s position because he had previously served as the VP under the then President Moi.
Sources at the ODM talks said it was resolved that “a kind of team” be picked alongside the presidential candidate to bind the victor into implementing a pre-election pact should the party and its candidate win the next General Election.
This, it was said, would ensure that losing presidential aspirants carry along their supporters to help ODM in the race against President Kibaki.
Mr Mudavadi reportedly pushed for the secret ballot and the collegiate system on the grounds that ODM should be seen to have gone through a democratic process of nominating its presidential candidate.
It would have looked like the ‘old bad’ habits of Kanu, he argued, for the ODM flagbearer to be nominated by acclamation.
The issues of Cabinet posts and other key appointments will also be tackled by the Marende committee.
On the delegates to attend the Kasarani meeting, accreditation committees were charged with the task of drawing up lists of the officials.
Said Prof Nyong’o: “As a party, we have 20 officials per constituency and the accreditation committee will ensure that only bona fide members attend.”
Following the acquisition of ODM from laywer Mugambi Imanyara, he said, they would not apply the 40:40:20 sharing formula that had been agreed upon between the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Kanu and Labour Party of Kenya (LPK).
The choice of delegates was one of the issues that led to the parting of ways between the Odinga camp and the Musyoka group with the latter accusing the former of employing tricks to win the presidential ticket.
Prof Nyong’o said: “ODM is one party and there is nothing like a sharing formula in the number of delegates.”
The meeting also agreed that sitting MPs will contribute Sh100,000 towards the delegates conference while parliamentary aspirants will pay a minimum of Sh20,000.
Raise funds
“Leaders of ODM will raise funds to foot the special national delegates conference through the means that have been proposed by the fund-raising committee,” he said.
The NEC also dashed hopes of re-uniting with ODM-K, stating that their former colleague could only join them as an individual.
Mr Balala said: “The reformed ship of ODM has left the dock and anybody who wants to come should do so as an individual.”
Asked if they were closing the door on negotiations with Mr Musyoka, the Mvita MP said: “There is no intention to hold talks. That is as far as the meeting has resolved.”
But the Mwingi North MP said: “Let us wait and see what happens after the nominations. We will see whether Raila will look back and want to talk or not. Those people talking now will have no role at that time.”
Lifted and published by Korir, API*APN africanpress@chello.no tel +47 932 99 739 or +47 6300 2525 source.Nation.ke
