•She said although the party may not be strong in Central or Rift Valley, the regions will have candidates.
•The NEB chairperson said sharing of zones among coalition partners could hurt ODM.
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Azimio la Umoja is yet to discuss the zoning of regions.
ODM National Elections Board chairperson Catherine Mumma said zoning makes sense to small regional parties that are confined to certain places.
Mumma termed it a tricky and sensitive affair.
She said although the party may not be strong in Central or Rift Valley, the regions will have candidates.
“We are one of the hesitant parties when it comes to zoning,” Mumma said.
The NEB chairperson said sharing of zones among coalition partners could hurt ODM.
She said the matter had not been discussed at the coalition level and Azimio affiliated parties have not been restricted from fielding candidates across the country.
“We are however cognisant of the need to take stock of who is ranking better in certain regions,” Mumma said.
She spoke Wednesday on Citizen TV.
On nominations, Mumma said over 81 people from civil societies and members of the diplomatic corps have been accredited to observe the process.
“We are deploying a digitised model in the primaries. We have already used it in Taita Taveta and Kilifi and the aspirants are happy,” she said.
“We want to eliminate all the shenanigans that come with the elaborate process of the ballot papers and boxes to reduce fraudulent activities.”
Mumma said the party was processing nomination certificates for areas where ODM has single aspirants and in those where consensus had worked.
“We ask our members to disregard those who claim to have been given direct tickets in some areas. This is only meant to scare away opponents,” the NEB chairperson said.
She said ODM will pick candidates through consensus.
“Where this has failed, we will use other methods, such as delegates, direct nomination or through universal suffrage,” Mumma said.
She said the issuance of direct tickets to some candidates was to weed out moles and field candidates who will remain loyal to their ideals.
“You don’t want to end up with moles planted in the party. Sometimes it is wise to stick with a candidate that may appear weaker than to allow your opponent’s candidates within the party,” Mumma said.
She said the biggest challenge was to balance loyalty and popularity amongst aspirants.
“We are looking for that person who can win in the main contest but in most cases, the most popular aspirant may not be the most loyal,” the chairperson said.
She said there is a need to strengthen parties, to avoid becoming mere election vehicles.
Edited by Kiilu Damaris