Confusion marks ODM elections

Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) grassroots elections in Mombasa County were hit by confusion as party officials fail to turn up.

In Likoni Sub-County, about 3,000 members on Saturday gathered at the Mshale Grounds to participate in the polls but no party officials appeared to conduct them.

The angry supporters staged a protest before declaring Mr Hamisi Ali Domoko the party chairman.

Speaking to the Nation on the phone, Mr Domoko criticised the branch officials of failing to conduct the election as required by the national office.

“Based on election clusters, Mombasa County was supposed to hold its primaries today (Saturday), but we were shocked when no county branch or national officials turned up,” he said.

However, Mr Domoko said he is now the Likoni Sub-County ODM chairman, adding that he will present his papers to Orange House in Nairobi for endorsement.

A Nation survey indicated that apart from Likoni, none of the remaining five sub-counties — Jomvu, Changamwe, Mvita, Kisauni and Nyali — held the elections.

Party ward reps Abubakar Rashid (Majengo-Mwembe Tayari), Nassir Rashid (Gan Ward) and Jimmy Odari (Changamwe) told the Nation that they were not aware of the polls.

Contacted on the phone, branch Chairman Mohamed Hatimy said he had written to the National Elections Board to postpone the elections, citing “unpreparedness” and fear of violence as witnessed elsewhere during such events.

Party director of elections and Suna East MP Junet Mohamed said the outfit expected the county to hold its elections as scheduled.

In a telephone interview on Friday, he dismissed fears by the Likoni Sub-County that it was the only one to conduct the primaries in Mombasa.