By Hope Barbra
The last-minute changes in the list of election officials for the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) in Kasipul have raised concern over a plot to rig the election.
Sources within the ODM told Western Insight that Chairperson Emily Awita of the Election Board made changes to the list following last night’s intervention by a senior party official.
Awita and the board had, two weeks ago, appointed a returning officer, deputy, and ICT official who were trained in Kakamega for the exercise.
Sources revealed that the appointed returning officer and ICT officer had in turn identified and submitted the list of polling officials to the election board and were expected to undergo training in Homa Bay town tomorrow ahead of Thursday’s exercise.
Awita was asked by the top party official to drop the original list of all the officials and instead use the new list presented to her.
The enraged top party official gave a dressing-down to Awita and her team for failing to liaise with him over the appointment of the officials.
“The top party official was mad that the election officials appointed by the board were not known to him, and this could compromise the outcome,” our sources revealed.
Our attempts to contact Awita were unsuccessful as she did not pick our calls.
Yesterday, aspirants warned that any attempt to rig the election would be met by the full force of the people.
And it is all guns blazing, with the guns now trained on Homa Bay Governor Gladys Wanga’s candidate, Boyd Were.
After a hide-and-seek game, Deputy Governor Oyugi Magwanga has finally come out to campaign for his preferred candidate, Mr. Newton Kepha Ogada, for the ODM ticket.
Joining the fray are the Kasipul professionals led by Engineer Tom Awino Okoko and Balwin Oluoch, who in the last three days have held a series of strategic meetings and rallies across the constituency.
Magwanga, the former area MP, has come out to ask voters to reject Wanga’s candidate Boyd, the son of his bitter rival, the slain immediate former MP Charles Ongondo Were.
“When the former Kasipul MP Peter Owidi died, did the party give a direct ticket to the relatives? And what about former Ndhiwa MP Orwa Ojode—was the wife given the ticket? Even in Malava, the son of the late Moses Mululu Injende was not given a direct ticket and he lost at the nomination. We must reject the project,” he said.
Governor Wanga, when contacted for comment, wrote: “No comment.”
Magwanga’s decision to oppose his boss’s candidate confirms the fallout the two leaders have had in the last two years and the possibility that they will not seek re-election on a joint ticket.
Earlier, Magwanga had declined Wanga’s overtures to support her candidate, and he has now gone out to campaign for his preferred choice. This could be a pointer to torrid moments ahead in Homa Bay County politics.
Earlier, the battle for Kasipul had been billed to be between Wanga, who is the ODM national chairperson, against Siaya Senator Dr. Oburu Odinga and Dr. Wenwa Odinga, elder sibling to ODM party leader Raila Odinga.
The battle for the ODM ticket pits Boyd, Ogada, Okindo Majiwa, Dr. Adel Ottoman, and George Ajoh Mbuta.
Several aspirants who had shown interest in the party ticket opted out over what they termed manipulation of the exercise by a section of the top party leadership.
For the first time in history, the excitement and scramble for the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) ticket in Nyanza has thawed, with leading aspirants for the Kasipul parliamentary by-election seeking alternative vehicles.
Ogada is banking on his community support for widows, where he has constructed 6,000 houses in the county, while in Kasipul he has built 2,000 for widows and the vulnerable.
Ogada also runs a hospital, which he built in 2013, and an orphanage that supports 211 children, most of them schooling in his institution.
He has held several health outreaches in Kasipul and other parts of the county and country.
“My work speaks for itself. I have a development record unmatched by any of my competitors, and that is why I want to be the MP to escalate the development,” he said.
Boyd is relying on his father’s achievements and those of the county government to win the ODM ticket and eventually the election.
Boyd has been traversing the constituency campaigning, and he is not a pushover. This explains why Magwanga and the professionals have come out guns blazing.
He hopes that with Wanga’s and other ODM MPs’ support, he will win the ticket and the election to inherit his father’s seat.
“Boyd has conducted a powerful campaign. He has presented a different image and resonates well with the youth. He is not a pushover in the contest. It is a two-horse race and can go either way,” said a section of residents interviewed.
Wanga has directed county government employees from the area to campaign for Boyd and even prevailed upon her CEC Dr. Joash Aloo to forgo his ambition in favor of her candidate.
The decision by Wanga to declare support for Boyd has divided the party right in the middle and forced most of the aspirants to seek alternative vehicles for the by-election.
“We are on the ground to write history. We want to have a fresh start in Kasipul, and that is why we have rolled out a serious campaign.
We are not leaving anything to chance. Kasipul people must be allowed to elect a leader of their own choice,” Oluoch said.
Oluoch added that the professionals under the leadership of Eng. Okoko have decided to comb the ground and protect the votes from any form of rigging.
ODM is reputed for nomination anomalies, with the party leadership known to interfere with the exercise or, on occasion, award direct tickets to their preferred candidates.
