- The party is also said to be considering issuing direct nominations to all single constituencies women MPs defending their seats.
- ODM will be starting the exercise in Nakuru and Turkana on April 1, followed by Narok and Kajiado the following day.
ODM has embarked on refunding millions of nominations fees as it resorts to issuing direct tickets in select areas.
In the last one week, the party issued direct certificates in at least 10 electoral areas, including three gubernatorial positions and four parliamentary seats.
The Star established that the party is employing a combination of methods, including opinion polls ratings and consensus to arrive at the most popular candidate for the ticket.
To guard against any drop in the number of its female elected MPs, the party is also said to be considering issuing direct nominations to all single constituencies women MPs defending their seats.
Some of the ODM-elected women MPs include Mishi Mboko (Likoni), Millie Odhiambo (Suba North), Eve Obara (Kabondo Kasipul) and Lilian Gogo (Rangwe).
Where a decision has been made to hand out direct tickets, ODM is refunding nominations fees to the unsuccessful aspirants.
The party also writes a letter of regret to all the unsuccessful applications and provides reasons for the issuing the direct ticket.
ODM national chairman John Mbadi on Sunday said the party will make refunds in all electoral seats it will be issuing direct certificates.
Already the Orange party is in the process of refunding Garissa Governor Ali Korane his half a million shillings application cash after the outfit resorted to giving former governor Nathif Jamah a direct ticket.
As at Sunday, the party had given direct tickets to former Ketraco boss Fernandes Barasa (Kakamega), former Agriculture Principal Secretary Hamadi Boga (Kwale) and Nathif Jamah (Garissa).
The party also issued tickets to Tindi Mwale (Butere), Titus Khamala (Lurambi), Peter Nabulindo (Matungu), Christopher Aseka (Khwisero) and Majority Whip Emmanuel Wangwe (Navakholo).
Chungwa House sources on Sunday told the Star the process will continue in the coming weeks and only a handful of MP, Senate, MCA and governor races will be subjected to primaries.
Mbadi said negotiations are ongoing in a number of electoral areas to avoid ‘divisive primaries’.
According to the National Assembly minority leader, where consensus is successful, the party will proceed and issue direct ticket to the compromise candidate.
“We have always said there will be direct ticket. It will be done on individual basis. There are those discussions going on. The moment the discussions are concluded those tickets will be issued,” Mbadi said on phone.
Given the big numbers of applicants ODM has attracted, the party will end up refunding millions of shillings by the time it will conclude the exercise.
ODM aspirants seeking gubernatorial seats were paying Sh500,000 to the party while deputy governors, senators and members of National Assembly were each parting with Sh250,000 as nomination charges.
Those eyeing woman representative post paid Sh125,000 to Chungwa House while MCA aspirants paid Sh50,000 and Sh25,000 for youths, women and People With Disabilities.
One such letter from ODM’s National Elections Board to Garissa Governor Ali Korane cited the party’s primaries and nomination rules, 2021, which allows the outfit to give direct ticket.
ODM Secretary General Edwin Sifuna said not all the positions will be direct ticket.
Already the issue of direct ticket has been met with opposition at the grassroots with supporters of unsuccessful aspirants threatening to decamp from ODM.
On Friday, a section of Kwale residents asked ODM to conduct nominations for every contested political seat, warning that issuing direct certificates will be counterproductive.
The group supporting the candidature of Zuleikha Hassan cried foul, alleging that there is a secret plot to deny the Kinango parliamentary hopeful ticket.
Zuleikha wants to unseat the current MP Benjamin Tayari who decamped from ODM to UDA and is now a diehard member of the Kenya Kwanza alliance.
The developments comes even as ODM warns against fraudsters impersonating its executive director Oduor Ong'wen and who are soliciting money from innocent aspirants to 'organise' primaries.
Chungwa House – in a statement – clarified that it does not solicit money for the exercise which will start officially on April 1 across 21 counties.
“The ODM party doesn’t lack resources to fund it primaries. These monies are sourced from Political Parties’ Fund and the monthly contributions and the nomination fees you have paid,” the party said in a statement.
“Private contributions are not solicited therefore. Treat any such demands as extortion and report the extortionists to relevant agencies.”
ODM will be starting the exercise in Nakuru and Turkana on April 1, followed by Narok and Kajiado the following day.
The NEB will then move to Kilifi and Tana River (April 4), Taita Taveta and Kwale (April 5), Mombasa (April 6), Kisii and Nyamira (April 7), Vihiga, Busia (April 12), Kisumu (April 13) and Siaya (April 14)
According to NEB schedule, the exercise will be held in Bungoma and Trans Nzoia (April 15), Migori (April 16), Homa Bay (April 18) and Kakamega (April 19).
(edited by Amol Awuor)