• Raila assured those keen on clinching seats at the party would not resort to the harmonization of its lists as was the case after the botched 2014 vote.
• Among activities taking a back seat is the planned nationwide membership recruitment that was slated to end by December 31 this year.
Image: JOHN CHESOLI
ODM has shelved plans for elections to fill party positions citing the ongoing campaigns to popularize the Building Bridges Initiative.
Party leader Raila Odinga on Sunday night said they have since revised the dates from the initial plan to hold the elections in March.
He said that because of the ongoing BBI issues, they wouldn’t want to mix the party election with this matter.
“We will postpone the exercise until we are done with the BBI. We will have a NEC meeting which will review and then set a new date,” the ODM leader said in an interview with NTV.
Raila assured those keen on clinching seats at the party would not resort to the harmonization of its lists as was the case after the botched 2014 vote.
He said the polls will have to be conducted in due course of further telling off those who may prefer boardroom discussions to give new entrants a chance.
“Incumbents who don’t want to be challenged are keen on harmonization as a way to filling the posts but we have insisted on elections to allow the incoming persons to participate,” Raila said.
Among activities taking a back seat is the planned nationwide membership recruitment that was slated to end by December 31 this year.
Parties are required to submit a list of officials alongside their annual reports to the Registrar of Political Parties by end of April.
However, with the uncertainties around the ODM and Jubilee Party elections, this may remain a mirage.
Save for ODM which may simply present lists of interim officials, Jubilee is bound by its Constitution to hold its polls by March.
Acting Registrar of Political Parties Anne Nderitu recently told the Star the term of most of the officials of the Jubilee party has expired in accordance with Jubilee's own constitution.
“We are obliged to remind Jubilee that they are bound by their own constitution, and as a matter of compliance with the law, to hold elections as and when the term of the current officeholders come to an end,” she said.
Raila, on this, said ODM will try best to hold the elections further dispelling claims of chaos in the party as an issue that cuts across many parties.
“Other parties don’t have numbers hence no wrangling. We are keener on these elections since it affects our performance in the general election,” he said.
The ODM leader cited recommendations of a task force led by Catherine Mumma as part of the reason for the internal reforms push.
The taskforce, which was set up to look at the party elections and why ODM did not do well in 2017, recommended an overhaul of the party’s structure.
To be affected were the National Elections Board, National Executive Committee and the secretariat.
The team noted that nomination was one of the causes of ODM’s poor performance in subsequent elections which followed its star performance in 2007.
He promised an end to chaotic nominations where disgruntled participants hire goons or hijack presiding officer or destroy ballot materials.
Raila further attributed ODM’s dwindling performance to coalitions presenting internal competition – like was the case of last poll when the party competed with ANC, Ford Kenya, and Wiper.
“We were all campaigning against each other. For instance, our candidate in Langata lost the election by 200 votes. We have done the post-mortem at how we lost the seats and what we can do to revamp the party.”