Forget free tickets, ODM aspirants told
Kepher Otieno
The Orange Democratic Movement will not give any politician direct nomination in next year’s election, Deputy Party leader Wycliffe Oparanya has said.
The Kakamega governor said all aspirants will have to face voters in the nominations if they want the party’s ticket.
“When you have the people behind you, then you win the party’s nod. So endear yourselves to the people. The people hold the power to anoint,’’ he said.
Oparanya said no contestant should expect favours from the party leadership.
“The party belongs to the people who hold sway in decision making and they do so by delegated responsibility and not the party officials,’’ he said.
He said in the primaries for the August elections, the party will strictly play the “referee” role.
“It doesn’t matter who you know at the party headquarters or county or branch. We will ensure only the popular candidate wins,’’ said Oparanya.
The governor said the party had launched a mass recruitment drive and asked those wish to run on its ticket to enlist as members.
“None party members will not be allowed to contest in the ODM nominations next year. So those who want to vie in ODM ticket have time to join or rejoin the party now,’’ he said.
To enlist more members, the ODM Deputy party leader disclosed, they had waived the Sh100 registration fee.
Voter listing
“We want people to register for free. This is because we had established that other parties register people for free and we charge Sh100,’’ he said.
A 2019 internal report attributed ODM’s declining numbers in Parliament to shambolic party primaries.
Oparanya said ODM was keen to correct past mistakes by ensuring that only the popular candidates are given the party ticket.
With barely one year into the next General Election, the party has also embarked on aggressive voter listing.
In an interview yesterday, Oparanya disclosed that they had launched a mass mobilisation of new voters.
“We are going round asking young and eligible voters to register in big numbers in preparation for the 2022 General Election,’’ Oparanya told People Daily.
The Kakamega governor revealed that he spent the weekend traversing Western Kenya where he urged young people to register as voters.
Among the counties he toured is Busia, Vihiga and Kakamega.
Oparanya observed that there are many young eligible voters who are not registered.
“These are the people we are asking to take the opportunity to register en masse in readiness for the 2022 General Election,’’ he said.
Raila candidature
Oparanya also said the party will hold rallies across the country once the Covid-19 restrictions are eased and public gatherings sanctioned.
In Kakamega County, he disclosed that they intend to increase registered ODM members from the current 800,000 to 1.1 million in the next four months.
Oparanya vowed to mobilise Western Kenya voters to support party leader Raila Odinga in next year’s election.
