ODM now cancels Oburu ‘win’

Bett has summoned Oburu and his rival Oduol/CFM

Bett has summoned Oburu and his rival Oduol/CFM

NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 19 – The Orange Democratic Movement on Friday night cancelled Assistant Minister Oburu Odinga’s ‘win’ for the Siaya gubernatorial seat and instead summoned the former Bondo MP and his rival William Oduol to Nairobi.

According to the ODM elections board chairman Franklin Bett, county elections panel chairperson Monica Amolo did not follow the correct procedure when she declared Oburu the winner.

“None of the two has clinched the ticket. The returning officer has not followed the laid down procedure to satisfy me and the elections board. I have asked the two contestants to appear before the board with documents to back their claims tomorrow (Saturday) so that we can determine who between the two won,” Bett asserted.

Earlier the Prime Minister’s brother was declared winner of the Siaya governor’s position by the county elections panel chairperson Amolo who said he had 62,232 votes against Oduol’s 35,198.

The results were from four constituencies but omitted vote tallies from Gem and Alego Usonga, which supporters said are Oduol’s strongholds.

Observers had named Oduol the winner in the hotly contested elections with reports emerging as early as Thursday night that Oburu had lost the ticket.

Just before Oburu was declared winner Bett was issuing a directive in Nairobi for a repeat of the Siaya nominations following the ‘disappearance’ of the returning officer.

Bett said the board had replaced the Returning Officer for the process to be finalised, as efforts to trace the missing officer were made.

The elections board ordered that all party nominations which were being repeated be completed by midnight on Friday to ensure that candidates were not locked out of the March 4 elections.

Bett said they had been advised by the Independence Electoral Boundaries Commission that results received past midnight Friday would be illegitimate.

He at the same time appealed to voters in Kisumu, Migori and Homa Bay to observe sobriety and peace.

Bett also expressed concern over massive reports of harassment and intimidation of various returning officers following the highly contested ODM primaries.

JUDIE KABERIA

JUDIE KABERIA

Judie is a Special Projects Reporter. She has eight years experience in Journalism in Kenya and Germany. She has scooped awards in Reproductive Health, Population and Development and Gender and Development. She has participated in international conferences in Germany. She has a soft spot for human rights and justice stories.

  • http://www.facebook.com/tobiusotieno.osuga Tobius Otieno Osuga

    People should STOP blame game on Raila but blame the returning officer. I’m sure Mr.Oduol has carried the day in Siaya.

  • Duncan Muchina

    Who’s blaming Tinga? Tell us more!

  • solomon

    The constitution of Kenya is very
    clear on the rights of every Kenyans freedom and protects all from
    discrimination, thus I find the Odingas right to enjoy all the benefits of the
    constitution, they have a moral duty to protect
    and propagate the majority Kenyan dream of their kin. I will again admit
    as below on the bills of rights;

    27.(1) Every person is equal before
    the law and has the right to equal protection and equal benefit of the law.

    (2) Equality includes the full and
    equal enjoyment of all rights and fundamental freedoms.

    27.(1) Every person is equal before
    the law and has the right to equal protection and equal benefit of the law.

    (2) Equality includes the full and
    equal enjoyment of all rights and fundamental freedoms.

    (4) The State shall not discriminate
    directly or indirectly against any person on any ground, including race, sex,
    pregnancy, marital status, health status, ethnic or social origin, colour, age,
    disability, religion, conscience, belief, culture, dress, language or birth.

    (5) A person shall not discriminate
    directly or indirectly against another person on any of the grounds specified
    or contemplated in clause (4).

    The moral responsibility I am addressing
    is not that articulated in the constitution, it articulated in our societal
    values and our hearts, and also it’s a social attribute towards the Kenyan
    society, where the other Odinga’s should
    portray themselves as a generous and non-greedy society of a family. It looks clumsy
    and irresponsible for a member of the families to want to control majority
    elective position in a Nyanza area, it not prudent at all. It projects a bad
    image for their son Raila. The sister’s and Oburu’s lack of realization like
    Hon. Fred Ngumo , it is a sign of misuse of family glory privileges, lack of
    environmental assessment and portrays pride in their candidature, to honestly
    speak.

    If we Kenyans are investing in
    Raila, why doesn’t the family lead in massive campaign in the background as the
    elected presidential campaign team does its job? What I expected was the family
    to have vibrantly initiated its own well-articulated professional diplomatic campaign
    program to popularize Raila, if prudency was to dwell. The days when a wife or
    son or brother or maybe cousin to a big man bulldozed their way is totally gone,
    the days when a relative scavenged their family big man glory are gone, it’s
    now the main man’s life and his own glory to watch. On the centrally we are
    living in the days where primitive misuse of
    authoritative privileges is likely to affect any potential leaders campaign,
    also the leader can no longer protect any derogative action of their kins, but they
    have face the full force of the law as separate individual. The Odinga’s should
    have taken a role in marketing, mobilization of campaign materials, logistics e.g.
    security and ramps if they haven’t organized anything as a family.

    I totally find it morally wrong for the other Odinga’s
    to try and play totally a spoiling role on Raila’s Kenyan dream. We as Kenyans
    are trying to fight the regionalization of presidency and make it a national
    asset and a national position worth and a national position accessible by any
    Kenyan of any tribe, wealth level and any family integrity background as long
    as you qualify. Raila is being voted the next President by Kenyans as a leader
    not a family due his prime participation on the delivery of the new
    constitution, facilitation of multiparty freedom, facilitation of massive infrastructure
    development under his office and consistency in maturity principal’s vision and
    mission for these country. I don’t expect Kenyan of the new constitutional dispensation
    mentalities to recycle family into presidency as if they are their peculiar
    preserve, or propagate a scenario where a particular family presence make Kenya
    relevant, NEVER.

    All Kenya’s have totally equal rights, none is superior
    to the other, all Kenyans have a moral responsibility to each other and not to
    particular families and last but not least all Kenyan enjoy equal supremacy
    under the law and no one is above the law. (unless one personally or as a group
    suffers from perpetual servant hood syndrome or inferiority mentality syndrome
    or pathetically suffer from self-inflicted inferiority)

  • Bella Opella

    Oduol should respect the verdict of the people. The returning officer has spoken