- The party had done scientific polls to pick popular candidates for direct nomination.
- However, the move has been objected by many aspirants who had prepared the ground for nomination.
Image: ELIAS YAA
ODM party primaries in Kilifi and Mombasa counties have been rescheduled from next week to give room for consensus building.
Kilifi county ODM chairman Teddy Mwambire on Saturday told the Star that aspirants in Mombasa and Kilifi had asked for new scientific polls to determine their popularity against opponents.
Kilifi's primary was to start on Tuesday and Mombasa's on Wednesday. New dates were not given.
The party had done scientific polls to pick popular candidates for direct nomination but the move has been opposed by many aspirants who had prepared the ground for nomination.
Mwambire sought to allay fears the party was postponing the nominations to favour incumbents.
“Some aspirants are still discussing to see if they will reach a consensus. We decided to give them a chance and if they will not reach a consensus then we will have to subject them to the primaries. In Mombasa they asked for fresh popularity polls which the party is currently doing,” he said.
The Ganze MP said some aspirants had already reached a consensus but he could not name them.
“That will be done by the National Elections Board. We have quite a number who have agreed and by next week, the NEB will make the announcement,” Mwambire said.
The delay has however caused jitters among aspirants.
Ferdinand Masha who is aspiring for the Kaloleni parliamentary seat said aspirants in Kilifi are not ready for consensus. He said the NEB is forcing people to reach a consensus.
“Consensus should be voluntary but not forced. Aspirants have prepared themselves for the nominations and they should be allowed to go into the nominations.
"Some have spent days talking to each other with no deal in sight. This is clear no one is willing to shelve their ambitions for the other.”
Masha said, the support base of the party may be shaken if the NEB issues direct tickets to aspirants.
“Everyone is watching the way the party is conducting itself during the primaries. The party is very strong in Kilifi but if we mess up the nomination process it will definitely affect its strength,” he added.
Already some aspirants have threatened to ditch the party if direct tickets are issued.
In Kilifi, county assembly speaker Jimmy Kahindi will face former provincial commissioner Francis Baya, Ambassador Dan Kazungu and former devolution CAS Gideon Mung’aro in the gubernatorial race.
Whereas Mung’aro has been calling for consensus, the three other aspirants have been vouching for the nominations.
Mwambire confirmed that in Kilifi, the gubernatorial and senatorial aspirants have reached a consensus.
He said as the ODM chairman in Kilifi, he has no control on the way the primaries are conducted.
“I have been accused of giving direct nominations to some aspirants. No certificate has been issued. In Ganze I have no opponent in the party but I have not been given the certificate yet.
"The certificates have not been printed. Anyone spreading information that I have issued certificates is doing it out of malice. It is only the election board that does that,” Mwambire said.
He said political leaders from other political parties are creating confusion by insinuating that ODM has preferred candidates to whom they have already issued certificates.
“Yesterday, there was a meeting by another political party whose agenda was to make sure the ODM primaries are interfered with.
"Those who attended the meeting have told us how the plan was to be executed. Those making noise about the nominations are actually not members of the party,” he added.
Mwambire also claimed some politicians sponsored aspirants to vie on ODM tickets just to scuttle the process.
The primaries had been pushed from April 4 to April 5 and later to an unspecified date.
Some aspirants had already made logistical arrangements for the Wednesday primaries.