NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov 24 – Prime Minister Raila Odinga has called for an end to wrangles in some of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) branches countrywide lest other political parties reap from possible fallout.
He charged that other political parties were ready to lure ODM members to their parties by offering those aspiring for elective seats direct nominations in a bid to weaken the party and set it up for defeat in the General Election “but their efforts will not bear any fruit”.
Odinga asked ODM party members to be wary of these machinations from ODM’s competitors by avoiding unnecessary wrangles that could play into their hands.
The PM who is also the ODM Party Leader was speaking in Voi on Saturday when he met party delegates from Taita Taveta.
Odinga reiterated that ODM will not give direct nominations to any candidate, emphasising that nominations will be free and fair so as to elect the most popular candidates to fight it out with candidates from other parties in the six elective positions on offer in March 2013 the elections.
The PM directed all sitting party officials intending to run for elective positions to relinquish their positions to create a level playing ground.
“We do not want party officials to misuse their positions and have undue advantage over their competitors when we hold party nominations for ODM candidates,” he added.
The PM announced that the party will unveil its manifesto during the party’s delegate’s conference to be held in Nairobi on December 7 and 8 in which it will give its achievement since the last elections and spell out its future plans when it comes into government in 2013.
Noting that ODM was a social democratic party, the PM affirmed that it will seek to alleviate the widespread poverty in the country unlike most of its competitors whom, he said, were seeking power to continue with their tribal hegemony.
He said, “Ours is a centre left party with progressive ideas while others are centre right and conservative; if you elect them into government the country will continue at the slow pace of development as has been the case in the last fifty years.”
“We must change the way this country has been governed since independence lest we continue dragging behind other countries,” he added.
The PM at the same time expressed his disappointment at the slow pace of voter registration in Taita Taveta County after few numbers of people in the area turn out to enlist as voters for the last five days.
“Am appealing to eligible Kenyans to register as voters in large numbers because winning in politics is about numbers,” he added.
The PM was accompanied by Cabinet ministers Dan Mwazo and Henry Kosgei, and MPs Calisto Mwatela (Mwatate) and Thomas Mwadeghu (Wundanyi).
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