ODM leader Raila Odinga has told the party’s National Elections Board to deliver credible nominations. The opposition chief cautioned NEB, chaired by East African Legislative Assembly member Judy Pareno, against any attempt to bungle the ongoing nominations.
He also urged the elections appeal board to expedite the hearing of pending petitions. Raila cautioned the NEB when he met some of the executive members on Monday night.
“The party leader was categorical the board has no option but to deliver credible nominations,” an NEB member said.
Raila, whose past unsuccessful presidential bids have been partly blamed on fraudulent primaries, is not only keen to avert a repeat, but also to ensure the process is aboveboard.
An internal evaluation report released by ODM after the 2013 polls revealed Raila’s presidential bid was hurt by shambolic primaries, especially in the party’s strongholds in Nyanza.
Losers in the 2013 ODM primaries were reportedly handed nomination certificates by a well-connected cartel of rogue party officials at Orange House.
Strong candidates decamped and joined other friendly parties and went on to win the General Election, denying ODM the much-needed parliamentary numerical strength.
The board is said to have been split over a petition regarding the Taita Taveta governor race pitting incumbent John Mruttu against Wundanyi MP Thomas Mwadeghu.
The NEB issued a statement last week calling for a repeat of the polls in some polling centres, but retracted the statement on Monday, saying the elections had been suspended indefinitely, causing more confusion.
Until yesterday, supporters of both Mruttu and Mwadeghu were keeping vigil at Orange House demanding the governor ticket. One of the board members told the Star in confidence that Raila is closely monitoring the nominations, a do-or-die duel for some of his loyalists fighting for political survival.
The Star established Raila has set up a lean team of loyalists at his Capitol Hill office as his focal primaries monitoring epicentre. The team gathers parallel intelligence from all wards.