The ODM party’s governing council will today hold a crucial meeting with aspirants from Mombasa in a bid to stem a fallout ahead of the primaries that had initially been scheduled for tomorrow.
This follows an uproar last week after the party released a list of aspirants proposed for direct tickets on the power of opinion polls.
Director of Elections Junet Mohamed, ODM Executive Director Oduor Ong’wen and National Elections Board chairperson Catherine Mumma said in a meeting in Nairobi on Thursday that the polls were credible.
Mvita MP Abdulswamad Nassir, who is eyeing the Mombasa gubernatorial seat, Likoni MP Mishi Mboko and Jomvu MP Badi Twalib were proposed for direct tickets. Others were Changamwe MP Omar Mwinyi, former Kisauni MP Rashid Bedzimba, Senator Mohammed Faki and Nyali parliamentary hopeful Said Abdalla.
The line-up was, however, rejected, forcing the party to conduct another poll.
“We commissioned another poll with a different firm and we hope to meet them again tomorrow (today), but the party is yet to make a decision,” said ODM chairman John Mbadi.
Latest opinion polls conducted by Infotrak indicate that Mr Nassir leads by 48 per cent, businessman Suleiman Shahbal is second with 18 per cent, United Democratic Alliance’s Hassan Omar is at 5 per cent, Wiper’s Ali Mbogo at 4 per cent and William Kingi at 1 per cent.
“Before issuing a direct ticket, there must be consensus among aspirants. We don’t just issue tickets from the blue,” Mr Mbadi said.
He said the reason the meeting failed to reach consensus is because the opponents questioned the authenticity of the polls and called for nominations.
“The problem we are having is the authenticity of the polls, but we told the aspirants that we are the ones who commissioned them,” Mr Mbadi said.
Mr Nassir yesterday said he was ready for the meeting and urged his opponents to accept the position of the party.
“During the National Delegates Conference at Kasarani, it was unanimously agreed that in cases where consensus has failed, the party will rely on opinion polls, which all show that I am in the lead. I don’t know why some people are opposed to this yet they endorsed it during the meeting,” he said.
On Saturday, Mr Shahbal warned ODM against handpicking candidates for Mombasa people based on opinion polls, saying such a move would lead to the party losing the gubernatorial seat to their rivals.
“Raila (Odinga) held my hand and that of my opponent at Tononoka grounds and promised that the party would be democratic; he should stick to that,” he said.
ODM on Saturday cancelled primaries that were scheduled to take place in Kilifi and Mombasa today and tomorrow, respectively.
“The party primaries for Kilifi and Mombasa scheduled for April 5 and April 6, respectively, are hereby postponed to enable the conclusion of the ongoing consultations and consensus-building,” Ms Mumma said in a statement.
“The board will communicate the outcome of the consultations and consensus-building and advise on the next steps. We urge our members to exercise patience in the meantime,” she added.
ODM is also faced with a tough task of picking its flag bearer in Kilifi. The gubernatorial race has attracted former Lands Chief Administrative Secretary Gideon Mung’aro, assembly Speaker Jimmy Kahindi and deputy governor Gideon Saburi.
ODM has already handed direct tickets to Nathif Jama, the former Garissa governor who is seeking to recapture the seat and gubernatorial hopefuls Fernandes Barasa (Kakamega) and Hamadi Boga (Kwale).
Others are MPs Tindi Mwale (Butere), Titus Khamala (Lurambi), Peter Nabulindo (Matungu), Christopher Aseka (Khwisero), Emmanuel Wangwe (Navakholo) and Sylvanus Anami (Shinyalu).
