NEB to give Nyanza new polls schedule - Mbadi

ODM National Elections Board (NEB) is expected to issue a new nomination schedule after the party’s top organ agreed on areas to conduct primaries.

The party's national chairman John Mbadi on Monday told the Star that the Central Management Committee has made a decision on areas where the NEB will issue direct tickets based on opinion polls as well as places where aspirants will be subjected to the ballot.

In a phone interview with the Star, Mbadi who was also chairing the powerful panel that was leading consensus building amongst aspirants said the new dates will be issued soon even as he urged supporters to wait for communication from NEB.

The panel which was sitting at Royal Tulip hotel consisted of ODM Director of Elections Junet Mohamed, party’s Executive Director Oduor Ong’wen and NEB led by Chairperson Catherine Mumma.

“I am not going to give specifics because that is the work of the Board, but for the Luo counties, we have decided where there will elections and where there will be direct tickets,” Mbadi said on phone.

“NEB will communicate which specific areas and which dates for the primaries, as a committee we have done our part.”

Attempts to reach  Mumma for clarification were however futile as her phone went unanswered.

The Star has however established that the party has resorted to direct tickets for all the four Luo Nyanza gubernatorial seats.

The party will also issue direct tickets in some Senate, Women Representatives and National Assembly seats where the scientific polls showed a huge margin.

Inside sources also intimated that the Board will conduct polls for all the Members of County Assembly (MCA) seats in the four counties.

Homabay Governor ticket had been given to Gladys Wanga in a deal that saw former Kasipul MP Oyugi Magwanga fronted as her running mate.

The issue of the direct ticket has met resistance in the party’s strongholds with disgruntled aspirants demanding universal suffrage as a way of arriving at the party’s candidates.

Siaya senatorial aspirants Julius Okinda and Tony Yogo have warned against any plan to issue a direct ticket to EALA MP Oburu Odinga, Raila’s elder brother.

There have been speculations that Siaya County is among the seats where the Party will issue direct tickets.

“We expect nothing less than a democratic process. I want equal chance without any manipulation,” Okinda said.

Yogo called on ODM Party Leader Raila Odinga to intervene and defeat attempts by some party officials to defeat the will of the people.

“Injustice everywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are privy to the information that our party is contemplating giving a direct ODM ticket to Oburu Odinga. It is the people who have the ultimate power to decide who to represent them,” he said.

Initially, the ODM registered members from the four Luo Nyanza Counties of Kisumu, Siaya, Homabay and Migori were to nominate their leaders on April 19, April 14, April 18 and April 16 respectively.

Last week, the party conducted primaries in Taita/Taveta, Kwale, Nyamira, Kilifi and Mombasa Counties for the MCAs and selected parliamentary seats.