ODM backs calls for joint Cord nominations

ODM leader Raila Odinga has supported a proposal by Wiper Democratic Movement leader Kalonzo Musyoka that all parties affiliated to Cord should sponsor joint candidates in the 2017 election.

In a statement, the Cord co-principal said the opposition coalition should adopt the formula used by Narc in the 2002 elections. The parties will retain their identities but support joint candidates to face those of President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Jubilee Party.

“All parties will present candidates for nomination and the overall winner will fly the coalition’s ticket as ODM/Cord, Wiper/Cord or Ford-Kenya/Cord,” said Mr Odinga in a statement signed by his spokesman, Mr Dennis Onyango.

On Monday, Cord co-principal Musyoka proposed joint nominations and that the coalition be registered as a political party.

On Tuesday, his party Wiper held a National Executive Committee meeting and discussed the issue. The meeting agreed to support joint nominations, especially in Nairobi.

Secretary-General Hassan Omar said Cord should be registered as a party so that it can field a joint presidential candidate.

He said the only way to dislodge Jubilee was to remain united, the Mombasa Senator said, and that Wiper will remain in Cord.

The party also declared Mr Musyoka its flagbearer in the 2017 presidential election.

JOINT NOMINATION

Should Wiper go ahead with its plan for joint nomination, Mr Musyoka will battle it out with Mr Odinga and Ford-Kenya leader Moses Wetang’ula, the other Cord co-principal, for the coalition’s ticket.

The party also dared its members who had defected to Jubilee to relinquish their elected seats and face by-elections.

“Jubilee is trying to weaken the opposition through defections but we will not be cowed,” said Mr Omar. “We are ready to defend any seat in a by-election.”

The announcement by Wiper comes a week after ODM members declared Mr Odinga the most suitable candidate to seek the Presidency on its ticket ahead of next year’s election.

Both Wiper and ODM have insisted on retaining their separate identities as political parties.

“The coalition will encourage the other parties willing to come on board to support this arrangement that enables them to retain their identity while flying the corporate Cord flag,” said Mr Onyango in the statement.

ODM Chairman John Mbadi also said the party will support joint nominations but not dissolution of parties.

“We have previously come out clearly that we don’t support dissolution of parties because it is restricting the democratic space and it is taking us back,” Mr Mbadi said, adding that parties should be built as viable political entities and that formation of parties for elections should cease.

“We have agreed to have joint nominations without dissolving our parties,” he said. “So, I don’t expect the folding up of our ODM.”

 Additional reporting by Valentine Obara