Kakamega governor Fernandes Barasa hands over a nomination certificate to Ibrahim Ayaya at the party headquarters on October 1 /HILTON OTENYO
The Orange Democratic Movement
is racing against time to find a candidate for the upcoming Kisa East ward
by-election set for November 27, after two nominees returned their certificates
in quick succession.
The party was thrown into disarray
this week after both hopefuls who had been issued tickets withdrew, leaving ODM
without a flag bearer for the seat that fell vacant following the death of
former MCA Stephen Maloba.
Thomas Oyolo, who received the
nomination certificate on September 12 at the party headquarters, was the first
to return it. In a letter dated September 23, Oyolo thanked the ODM leadership
and the National Elections Coordinating Committee for believing in his
candidacy but offered no explanation for his withdrawal.
“I hereby hand back the certificate
given to me by NECC in good faith. I remain loyal to the party and consent to
the committee to fill in the preferred candidate as proposed by the ODM
Kakamega county office,” his letter read.
Following Oyolo’s withdrawal,
Kakamega Governor and county ODM chairman Fernandes Barasa handed the
certificate to Ibrahim Ayaya on Wednesday at the party headquarters. But in
another twist, Ayaya declined the nomination a day later, saying he was already
the Democratic Action Party of Kenya candidate in the race.
“It is regrettable that the
nomination certificate was issued before consultations could reach their
logical conclusion. I hereby respectfully decline the ODM nomination and return
the certificate,” Ayaya said in his letter.
Western region ODM coordinator
Justus Kizito maintained that the party will still field a candidate, accusing
rival forces of interfering with their nominations to weaken ODM’s presence in
the region.
“Those interfering with our
candidates want to create the impression that ODM is weak in Western, but we
will give the ticket to one of our youth leaders,” Kizito said.
Former Kakamega county assembly minority leader Joel Ongoro, who lost the seat in 2022 as an independent, had
also expressed interest in the ODM ticket before shifting allegiance to the
Movement for Democracy and Growth party.
With the by-election deadline fast approaching, ODM now faces a test of its internal organisation and regional strength as it scrambles to find a candidate who can restore its footing in Kisa East.
