Competition for aspirants could threaten cohesion of the Raila Odinga-led Azimio la Umoja Movement ahead of the August 9 polls.
Raila’s ODM and DAP-K linked to Defence CS Eugene Wamalwa are fighting viciously for aspirants in Western, three days to the deadline on party hopping. Both parties are affiliates of Azimio.
It has emerged the Orange party’s top leadership has been intimidating ODM elected leaders who intend to switch camps to stay on.
Wamalwa said Orange MCAs who want to defect to DAP-K are being asked to pay party remittance arrears totalling Sh300,000 before leaving.
But if they stay, they will be exempted.
“The move is aimed at slowing down newly formed DAP-K that has proved to be growing fast,” Wamalwa told MCA aspirants from Kakamega on Monday.
Wamalwa expressed optimism that DAP-K will bag most of the elective seats, not only in Western Kenya but also across the country.
He said ODM's intimidation tactics will prove futile.
Although the parties are in Azimio, there is competition on which delivers more seats in the August polls. The jostling is for positioning power, if Azimio takes power.
Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya, who is a deputy ODM party leader, said he will only support candidates on the ODM ticket.
He could not be reached on Tuesday for comment about claims of the party using arrears to intimidate MCA aspirants wishing to defect to DAP-K from ODM.
But ODM Kakamega county secretary Geoffrey Mitalo denied claims the party was intimidating those seeking to defect to other Azimio affiliates.
“ODM is a democratic party. Several people have left ODM to other parties and vice versa. We are alive to the internal competition in Azimio.
There is rivalry yes because all Azimio affiliates only support the presidential candidates but down here we fight for seats,” he said.
Mitalo said the Sh300,000 MCAs were being asked to pay was a commitment they made through a declaration form when they were applying for nominations in 2017.
“It’s a payment even those who are seeking the party ticket for the August polls have to pay before being cleared to run,” he said.
Mitalo said ODM was not going to be friendly in competing with other Azimio affiliates because the party has suffered before from such competition in past coalitions.
ODM officials in Nyanza were reported to have shunned joint campaigns with Azimio affiliates.
Deputy party leader Ayub Savula said DAP-K will pick its candidates through consensus, adding that there would be collegial decision-making, bargaining and compromise to help the party field suitable candidates.
He said aspirants who have no rivals will be handed direct nominations starting Saturday.
(Edited by V. Graham)
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