By Samuel Ouma
The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party will kick off its primaries on Friday, April 1, 2021.
The process will last until April 21, a day before the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) deadline for holding primaries.
Raila Odinga’s led outfit will hold the nominations in 20 out of 47 counties, perceived to be its strongholds.
The 20 counties include Nakuru, Kwale, Mombasa, Kilifi, and Taita Taveta. Others are Kisii, Nyamira, Turkana, Migori, Bungoma, Trans Nzoia, Vihiga, Busia, Kisumu, Kakamega, Siaya, Homa Bay, Narok, Kajiado and Nairobi.
ODM will use consensus in 27 counties where it will not hold primaries to select appropriate candidates. It will also not field candidates in some areas, instead will back its partners in Azimio La Umoja coalition.
The party has called on aspirants to embrace consensus to mitigate disputes that might arise.
“The only way that as a party we can move forward knowing that an electoral position can only go to one person. We encourage members to speak to each other so as not to be negatively competitive to each other,” she said.
Parties’ primaries will be different for the first time in the country’s history. The new political party law, which requires outfits to allow only registered members to vote in primaries.
According to the Registrar of Political Parties Anne Nderitu, ODM has 24.8 registered members, consisting of 15.4 men and 9.4 women.
