HOMABAY, Kenya, Dec 8 – Homa Bay Governor Gladys Wanga has defended the consensus method used by ODM party to nominate her as the gubernatorial flag bearer during the last elections.
Wanga urged Homa Bay High Court to dismiss arguments by the petitioner that her nomination via a direct ticket was irregular.
Wanga, who was testifying in a petition filed by former Nairobi Governor Dr. Evans Kidero said her nomination was above board.
Kidero sued Wanga, her deputy Oyugi Magwanga, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), County Returning Officer Fredrick Apopa and ODM party.
Kidero and his witnesses accused ODM of being undemocratic by giving Wanga a direct ticket to run Homa Bay governorship.
Among those who have testified include ODM chairman for Ndhiwa constituency Ogina Nyabola who told the court that the party subverted the will of the people by giving Wanga a direct ticket.
But in her submissions Wednesday, Wanga told the court that she acquired the ODM ticket procedurally.
The Governor who was cross-examined by Kidero’s lawyer Julie Soweto said that she was given a direct ticket after consensus involving gubernatorial aspirants who were battling for ODM ticket, ahead of the last general election.
She said that the ticket was in line with ODM constitution which allows use of consensus, direct ticket, party delegates and universal suffrage.
“I was given a direct ticket through consensus that was spearheaded by ODM leader Raila Odinga, ” Wanga said
The Governor claimed that she got the ticket on merit after opinion polls rated her as the most popular aspirant.
“This ticket was not given to me on a silver platter. I merited and my opponents in ODM gave me greenlight to bear the party’s flag for the gubernatorial race except Dr Kidero,” Wanga said.
She appealed to Justice Roselyne Aburili to dismiss matters pertaining to how she secured the ODM ticket to run for the county governorship.
Wanga argued that in spite of her nomination being part of the issues for challenging her election, nobody had challenged her nomination through ODM Party Appeals Tribunal.
“Your honour, ODM party has its internal mechanism for solving nomination disputes but nobody has challenged my nomination. Kindly dismiss the matter because it was not presented to the relevant organs which ought to have handled it before the general election,” Wanga said.
Wanga denied allegations that she perpetrated violence at some polling stations.
“Neither I nor my agents have been summoned by security officers to record statements over violence and there is no evidence linking me to any such violence,” she said.
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