ODM REPORT
By David Ohito, Paul Jimbo and Biketi Kikechi
Tempers flared at the ODM-Kenya retreat in Naivasha even as the party hoping to unseat President Kibaki navigated the tricky path of nominating its presidential candidate.
But after protracted closed-door negotiations, made even trickier by the populous nature of the Rift Valley — perceived to be Mr William Ruto’s political bedrock — the party leaders emerged to announce the deadlock over the nomination procedure had crumbled. One of the trickiest issue on the table that the sub-locational-based nomination would have given Ruto undue advantage because Rift Valley has at least 2,100 of the 7000 delegates on the national tally.
The ground was made slippery, first by the flare-up of tempers after Mwingi North MP Mr Kalonzo Musyoka telephoned from Nairobi on Thursday evening asking delegates to postpone voting on the nomination process until he returned. The delegates jeered amid claims that some ODM Presidential candidates were behaving as if they were more important than their rivals. Mr Kalonzo who did not return to Naivasha however used his time on Friday in Kajiado South Constituency, to warn President Kibaki to prepare for a titanic battle should he emerge victorious in ODM-Kenya presidential nominations.
But after protracted closed-door negotiations, made even trickier by the populous nature of the Rift Valley — perceived to be Mr William Ruto’s political bedrock — the party leaders emerged to announce the deadlock over the nomination procedure had crumbled. One of the trickiest issue on the table that the sub-locational-based nomination would have given Ruto undue advantage because Rift Valley has at least 2,100 of the 7000 delegates on the national tally.
The ground was made slippery, first by the flare-up of tempers after Mwingi North MP Mr Kalonzo Musyoka telephoned from Nairobi on Thursday evening asking delegates to postpone voting on the nomination process until he returned. The delegates jeered amid claims that some ODM Presidential candidates were behaving as if they were more important than their rivals. Mr Kalonzo who did not return to Naivasha however used his time on Friday in Kajiado South Constituency, to warn President Kibaki to prepare for a titanic battle should he emerge victorious in ODM-Kenya presidential nominations.
Mr Kalonzo said he had what it takes to give Kibaki a humiliating defeat as long as he was the ODM-K flag bearer. "I am not a coward and I can tell Kenyans that should I be nominated candidate I will give Kibaki a run," he said. The delegates unanimously resolved how the party would pick its presidential candidate. Among the resolutions passed were that each constituency will have 2000 presidential nomination delegates who will be allocated equally among all sub-locations within the constituency. The nomination of the delegates will be conducted through secret ballot and the polling station for the presidential nomination shall be done at sub-locational level. Mr Kalonzo had favoured 50 delegates from every sub-location voting to pick the party’s presidential candidate. Delegates gathered in Naivasha resolved that the candidate, would be chosen by a simple majority where the one who garners the highest number of votes, would be declared the winner.
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