THE two feuding factions in ODM yesterday agreed to share positions as interim officials until the party holds elections in three months. The deal was hammered out yesterday in a short closed door meeting, chaired by party leader Raila Odinga, that started at 10am at Capital Hill building in Upper Hill.
At 2pm the National Governing Council convened at Orange House. The Ababu faction and the Zani faction each nominated three people to work with Raila until the June election.
Raila will remain party leader with Mombasa governor Ali Hassan Joho, an Ababu supporter, as his Deputy. Budalangi MP Ababu Namwamba himself will be the acting Secretary General while Aldas MP Aden Keynan will be ODM's interim organising secretary.
On the other side, senator Agnes Zani herself will become the ODM acting Treasurer. Kakamega governor Wycliffe Oparanya will be ODM chairman while Homabay senator Otieno Kajwang will be acting vice chairman.
The committee will investigate what caused the chaos in Kasarani last Friday; recommend changes to the ODM secretariat and national elections board; and set a new date for elections.
After the afternoon meeting, Raila said that the interim team will report back to the National Governing Council in a month after evaluating the events that marred the ODM party elections in Kasarani on Friday.
“People look at the ODM for leadership and I want to assure our party supporters that ODM will emerge stronger than before,” Raila said yesterday at the ODM secretariat.
Two rival factions coalescing around Namwamba and Zani, both of whom wanted to be ODM Secretary General, have been involved in cutthroat competition to take over the key party leadership positions.
The party campaigns became increasingly polarised and on Friday anonymous young men in black suits, smashed ballot boxes, stole votes and aborted the party elections leaving ODM without officials.
The NGC consists of all 47 elected county chairmen, the National Executive Committee, Governors and the joint National Assembly and Senate parliamentary group accepted the constitution of the interim team.
All the party positions were declared vacant during the National Delegates Convention on Friday but the party constitution mandates the ODM leader, who was also defending his position, to be in office until the party is properly constituted.