ODM To Disqualify Aspirants Who Instigate Violence Ahead Of Nominations

ODM party’s National Executive Council (NEC) will disqualify aspirants who instigate violence during campaigns in the anticipated party’s April preliminaries ahead of August elections.

This comes just days after the Luo Council of elders, Mbita branch, called on to ODM as the dominant party in Nyanza region to bar violent aspirants from contesting for any seats.

ODM national chairperson John Mbadi stated that the NEC had issued directives to the National Elections Board that is chaired by Catherine Muma, to find tangible grounds to disqualify candidates who fuel violence before or during the party nominations.

Speaking in Homa Bay, Mbadi explained that the move was an attempt to bring peace and sanity to the party and especially during nominations.

“For years ODM has been branded as chaotic and violent during nominations and we are about to change this narrative as we have directed the board to first eliminate violent aspirants so as to pave way for other contenders,” stated Mbadi.

“In as much as the aim of preliminaries is to ensure the party emerges victorious at the end of the day, peace, fairness, and democracy would still be maintained,” added the Suba South Member of Parliament.

In December, during Raila Odinga’s visit to Homa Bay boys’ high school to preside over Wanga Genowa NGAAF tournament 2021, the party leader had stated that the first procedure the party would bank on for the preliminaries would be a consensus among candidates.

He explained that all aspirants eyeing a similar seat would be sat down by the party to allow them to come to an agreement on a single contender who would carry the flag.

Odinga added that this would go a long way in preventing violence that would otherwise result from picking a single candidate.

If this fails, the candidates would be subjected to a voting process by registered party members as many times as possible to ensure the satisfaction of all the aspirants with the results.

Odinga however reiterated that law gives room for the party to issue a certificate to a candidate through direct nominations without going through the voting process.

“Direct nomination of candidates will only be done as a last resort if all the other procedures fail or we are pressing against IEBC’s timeline,” stated the former Prime Minister.