Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) Secretary-General, Edwin Sifuna told off presidential hopeful Jimi Wanjigi about his calls for a National Delegates Conference (NDC) to choose the party’s flag bearer for the 2022 presidential election.
Sifuna, who addressed the press at the party headquarters in Nairobi on Friday, said the party would use any of the four procedures set out in the party's constitution to choose its candidates for various seats.
"The rules provide four ways of nominating party candidates. You can have nomination through consensus, direct ticket, delegates or through universal suffrage,” Sifuna stated.
During his visit at Orange House on August 27, Wanjigi made a raft of demands, including the unveiling of a delegates list prior to the delegates conference.
The ODM Secretary-General noted that in cases where primaries will be conducted, the party will ensure a credible process.
“We have been given very specific instructions by the party leader, Raila Odinga that this time around the party nominations must be free and fair and be seen by everyone to be free and fair,” he said.
The ODM Secretary-General said that any interested aspirant should familiarize themselves with the party’s rules before seeking the nomination.
He stated that every member will have an opportunity to make their decision on whether to pick candidates through nominations or party primaries.
In addition, Sifuna told off those celebrating the fall of the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) process saying that the invalidation of the process by the court was a loss for Kenyans.
“It is the women of this country who lost, because all the good ideas that were in BBI have been lost, and the people from North Eastern who were championing for an increase in equalization fund,” he noted.
Sifuna also defended recent comments by Odinga in regard to revenue allocation among counties. Raila had complained that Mandera was getting more than other deserving counties like Kiambu, eliciting sharp reactions from a section of leaders.
“When Raila Odinga speaks about the difference between Kiambu, Mandera or Marsabit, he does not mean that funds meant for Mandera should be given to Kiambu, he simply means people from both counties should get their rightful share in terms of resources,” he added.
