ODM Members head to the polls next month to elect new office bearers to steer the party for the next five years.
Already, members of the National Elections Coordinating Committee (NECC) formerly the National Elections Board (NEB) are burning the midnight oil and working on the timetable of the exercise whose dates will be announced soon.
Speaking in Mombasa during the Coast ODM Delegates Conference at the Pride Inn Resort, Party Leader Mr. Raila Odinga said elections give a chance to members to elect new leaders who inject fresh blood and energy into the party.
He said the party needs to have the elections as soon as possible and in accordance with the constitution and the law so as to prepare it for the next general election. “This is an opportunity for members to exercise their democratic right as members of our movement to elect new leaders who will steer our party to posterity”, he said.
He cautioned members against using violence during the exercise saying they need to show maturity at all times.
“Party elections should not be a matter of life and death. We must show maturity and civility during the exercise for us to continue being the strongest party in Kenya”, he added. The Party Leader said the party continues to attract new members because of its organizational structures, which have made it the only party that is compliant with the law.
“You saw the other day the Registrar of Political Parties saying that it is only ODM that is operating legally and that the rest of the political parties have not complied with the requirements of the law”, he said.
Mr. Odinga urged party members to continue with the recruitment drive in their branches to strengthen the party and make it a formidable force in the country.
Deputy Party Leader Mr. Simba Arati said party indiscipline was a contributor to the deteriorating standards of political parties in the country saying that ODM should remain a formidable force.
“We shall instill discipline in rogue members of the party. We have to make sure members are disciplined and stick to the ideology of the party”, said the Governor of Kisii County.
The Governor of Mombasa Mr. Abdulswamad Sherrir Nassir who is also a Deputy Party Leader said ODM will maintain its identity even as some of its members work in the broad-based government as Cabinet Secretaries.
“We are ODM and our identity is the Orange Colour. We shall continue painting all corners of the country Orange and our members should know that we are not in government” he said.
Party National Chairperson Ms. Gladys Wanga, who is also the Governor of Kisii County, said she will crisscross the country with other party leaders to popularize the party and reach out to as many people as possible to join it.
She said, “I will personally meet you (members) to discuss how best we can improve our party and make it stronger.”
