ODM cancels Kisii primaries at the eleventh hour
Kisii Governor James Ongwae (centre) addresses the press on May 14, 2021, accompanied by leaders of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), on a police raid at his Maili Mbili residence the previous night.
The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party has cancelled nominations for parliamentary seats in Kisii County.
Aspirants were called to the ODM headquarters on Wednesday night.
Some of them told the Nation that they had not received any communication from the party and therefore did not travel.
Others said they received phone calls past midnight and had to make emergency travel plans.
"We are not holding the parliamentary nominations. The aspirants are already in Nairobi. The party has seen it wise to use consensus for the positions,” said Kisii County ODM Chairman Kerosi Ondieki.
“The same format will be used for the woman rep position. But the ward nominations are ongoing."
The cancellation of parliamentary nominations caught some aspirants off guard, with a few claiming that it was a scheme by the party to hand direct tickets to preferred names.
"We will not allow this. We thought ODM will this time round be democratic. But what has happened today is unacceptable. Our supporters were at polling stations by 6am ready to cast their votes," said Mr Laban Chweya, who is eyeing the Nyaribari Masaba seat.
Mr Chweya accused the party of open discrimination, saying it is repeating the mistakes it had committed over the years that led to its failure to win even a single MP seat in Kisii.
He said aspirants who travelled to Nairobi had betrayed the people, democracy and the common good.
Complaints also marred nominations for ward seats, with most supporters not sure which wards were to conduct primaries.
Consensus
Some ward rep aspirants had used consensus to nominate the strongest among them.
Some polling stations were merged and it was not clear to ODM supporters what the new ones were.
Polling materials also left the tallying centre at KIHBT late, with transport and fuel challenges affecting the distribution of materials.
In Bomachoge Borabu constituency, presiding officers protested their redeployment to neighbouring constituencies.
"We are being told to go to South Mugirango, yet we come from Bomachoge. We are unsure of our security there," said Mr Alex Aika.
Mr James Nyamasege said that they were not familiar with the terrain in neighbouring constituencies and criticised the party for lack of organisation.
