Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) leader, Raila Odinga, has revealed that the party will issue direct tickets ahead of the 2022 General Election.
Speaking in Kibra, Odinga opined that he was backing the party's decision to have a consensus over primaries ahead of 2022 polls.
He supported either consensus or direct tickets in the nomination of candidates who will vie in various positions in the next elections.
The ODM leader encouraged dialogue among aspirants and urged them to reach a consensus on the best person to fly the party ticket.
Further, Raila stated that in the case there are disagreements among hopefuls, delegates and members, the party will issue direct tickets.
“The party will employ four options to nominate its candidates. The first one will be consensus, while the delegates system will be the second option,” the former Prime Minister stated when he visited Kibra yesterday.
“The third option will involve the use of party members with membership cards and not just IDs (identity cards). Therefore, those who want to be members of the party should take advantage of the ongoing free registration to be able to participate in the primaries,” he added.
Raila explained that ODM will be joining Jubilee to form a coalition deal that will guarantee them several seats, especially in Nairobi.
“We are uniting ODM and Jubilee in a coalition deal that will guarantee us several seats, especially here in Nairobi. We want all the seats here right from MCA, MP, senator, Woman Rep, governor and president all under Azimio la Umoja banner,” the ODM leader stated.
Odinga went on to state that ODM was ardent to retain all aspirants under its umbrella to avoid defections and independent candidates, as this reduces the party’s chances of benefiting from the political parties funds.
However, ODM Presidential aspirant, Jimi Wanjigi, has been vocal in opposing the direct ticket method.
Wanjigi, in a letter to the Secretary General, Edwin Sifuna, accused some party officials of plotting to use “consensus” to handpick its torchbearer for the 2022 presidential race.
He warned such a method would be an affront on democracy and would kill the party altogether.
The businessman termed the consensus approach “a gross violation of the party constitution, vague, improper and clearly flies in the face of the mood of members who wish to participate in a transparent democratic process to reinvigorate the party for the 2022 elections.”
