• The delegates endorsed Nyong'o to fly the Orange party governor seat ticket in the August 9, polls.
• The delegates resolved to back him based on the projects he initiated in his first term.
Image: Maurice Alal
More than 1,000 delegates drawn from the seven sub-counties in Kisumu have declared support for Kisumu governor Anyang Nyong'o's re-election.
The seven sub-counties include Nyakach, Seme, Muhoroni, Kisumu Central, Nyando, Kisumu West and Kisumu East.
The delegates endorsed Nyong'o to fly the Orange party governor seat ticket in the August 9, polls on Monday.
The move is likely to cause a major backlash in the party with opponents bound to doubt the integrity of the looming nomination exercise.
The delegates resolved to back Nyong'o based on the projects he initiated in his first term saying he deserved a second term to complete them
Kisumu Senator Fred Outa, ex-East Africa Community chief administrative secretary Ken Obura and former speaker Onyango Oloo did not attend the delegates meeting.
Outa, Oloo and former governor Jack Ranguma last week on Friday shelved their governor’s seat ambition and backed Obura to face Nyong’o in the forthcoming general elections.
Kisumu speaker Elisha Oraro presided over a motion tabled by majority leader Kenneth Onyango, who sought the delegates' approval of the proposal to endorse Nyong’o as the ODM flag bearer.
The motion was seconded by Kisumu deputy Speaker Joachim Oketch, Beatrice Odongo and Aslam Khan and South Nyakach MCA Gard Olima.
ODM deputy party leader and Kakamega governor Wycliffe Oparanya, Kisii Governor James Ongwae, national ODM treasurer Timothy Bosire and Siaya deputy governor James Okumbe and his Kisumu counterpart Mathews Owili attended the delegates’ convention.
Others were MPs Olago Aluoch (Kisumu West), James Nyikal (Seme), Fred Ouda (Kisumu Central), Aduma Owuor (Nyakach) and Nominated Senator Rose Nyamunga and a host of MCAs and aspirants for various elective positions.
Nyong’o’s is largely perceived as ODM's preferred candidate for the Kisumu governor seat with rivals pledging a political battle to unseat him.
He welcomed the endorsement pledging not to disappoint the delegates and residents in his second term if elected.
Nyong’o said he will rally delegates and county residents to support ODM party leader Raila Odinga’s presidential bid.
He also promised to fully implement his legacy projects and development initiatives if elected for a second term.
Oparanya, in what appears to be distancing himself from the endorsement, said he will support Nyong’o after-party nominations.
He noted that ODM was founded on democracy and will ensure every member is given the right to participate in free, fair and transparent elections.
Oparanya said party officials must be impartial and desist from remarks which will cause animosity among party supporters.
“The perception of preferred lists of candidates is scaring away other aspirants from the party. It must stop because such would lead to voter apathy which should not be the case as we focus on the presidency,” he said.
Cases of perceived lineups have plagued the ODM party in the Nyanza region, especially Kisumu, Siaya, Migori and Homa Bay counties.
Ongwae appealed to voters in the region to be patient saying tough times are ahead as they focus on the election of Raila to succeed President Uhuru Kenyatta when he retires.
In the past, Obura and Outa said they will face Nyong’o even if he is given a direct ODM ticket to salvage county residents from what they termed as bad leadership full of suffering.
Obura, who teamed up with Outa, Ranguma and Oloo said they have what it takes to defeat Nyong’o saying they will ensure he is voted out.
Obura promised to conduct a door-to-door campaign in the coming weeks to popularise his bid. He called for free, fair and credible nominations saying they are ready to face Nyong’o.
Obura, who received overwhelming support from Ranguma, Oloo and Outa, pledged to mount a structured campaign to unseat Nyong’o.
“We want a level playground where every leader sells his or her policies to the electorates, for them to make wise decisions. Leaders should be voted based on their ideologies and not impose candidates on the people. This will lead to voter apathy in the region,” Obura said.
The former Kisumu Central MP said more focus and energy should be directed towards mobilising voters for the ODM party leader's presidential bid, and not endorsements.
Obura said Raila’s presidency outweighs the aspiration of other aspirants hence the need to unite.
He said ODM should uphold the democracy in which the party was founded by conducting free and fair nominations.
Outa recently expressed confidence that they will defeat Nyong’o in free and credible primaries after a consensus between them after months of joint campaigns.
They said they would consolidate their support bases behind Obura against Nyong’o.
The quartet accused Nyong’o of failing to deliver on his manifesto.
Outa, who campaigned for Nyong’o in 2017, termed their alliance as the best to rescue residents from the suffering they have been subjected to by the administration of Nyong’o.
Outa said they have decided to follow instructions from the party headquarters that before they declare anyone, they must sit and have a consensus.
“We have resolved that the person to carry the flag is Obura. He has our full backing to face Nyong’o,” he said.
With the newly enacted Political Parties Amendment Bill of 2021, they said that they will field another candidate to vie in the Kisumu governor seat should Obura fall off at the ODM nominations slated for April.