The former Prime Minister led his party in endorsing proposals to expand its leadership and ensure the top hierarchy is representative of its strongholds.
The move is meant to avert possible political fallout after next week’s elections for top party posts, despite opposition by some members.
The trade-off gave a glimpse of the new party hierarchy ahead of the crucial polls to pick a team that will be tasked to steer the party in the 2017 elections.
Opponents of the creation of the additional nine positions, some split from top posts that have attracted fierce competition, interpreted it as tailored to reward losers.
But ODM’s top decision-making organ, the National Governing Council (NGC), eventually approved the new posts, which would only be filled after the February 28 party polls.
By proposing that the NGC would fill the newseats after election of other office bearers by the National Delegates Convention (NDC), the party was apparently leaving open a window to appease those dissatisfied with the outcome.
The meeting at Orange House in Nairobi created two posts each of deputy party leader, deputy chairperson and deputy treasurer, and three deputy-organising secretaries. They were endorsed by acclamation.
Sources told The Standard that MPs from the Coast put up a spirited fight to oppose the splitting of the deputy party leader’s position, but were overruled.
Governors Hassan Joho (Mombasa) and Wycliffe Oparanya (Kakamega) are locked in a fierce competition for the position of deputy party leader.
MPs Mishi Mboko Juma (Mombasa County) and Aisha Jumwa (Kilifi) reportedly spoke in support of Joho, arguing that there was no need of creating two positions of deputy party leader.
Join hands
Turkana Governor Josphat Nanok, who is seeking the position of chairperson, and Kajiado Central MP Joseph Nkaissery, also reportedly opposed the proposal, saying losers should join hands with winners to build the party.
“While creating two positions of deputy party leader could as well help to accommodate some supportive members of the party, that must not be at the expense of fair competition,” said Nanok.
It is proposed that one of the deputy party leaders will be in charge of strategy and finances, while the other will be responsible for operations and resource mobilisation.
Instructively, Joho, Nanok and Budalang’i MP Ababu Namwamba, who is eyeing the secretary-general’s seat, reportedly sealed a deal after secret talks on Wednesday night at a Nairobi hotel.
A group of five MPs from the Coast met their colleagues from Western Kenya to negotiate how the camp could vote as a bloc for the line-up at the NDC.
The scheming by the trio piled pressure on Nominated Senator Agnes Zani, who has locked horns with Namwamba to succeed Prof Anyang’ Nyong’o as secretary general.
It is against this backdrop that the Coast MPs and Nanok objected to the newpositions, perhaps confident of victory and concerned that the move is to reward losers.
But yesterday, Raila said the additional positions were not meant to reward people or please some politicians, but to ensure that the leadership of the party is decentralised to the grassroots.
“We are not making these amendments to please some people, we want the people to own the party at the lowest unit and have it available for them,” Raila said to assure those who had objected the creation of more seats.
The former PM assured the party members that the new positions would ensure balance along gender and regional lines, and promote diversity.
They were also tailored to strengthen the party to prepare it to put up a credible run in the 2017 elections.
New positions
“The elections of the new positions will be handled by the National Governing Council with the mandate from the NDC taking into account gender, regional and diversity issues in line with the national Constitution, the Political Parties Act and the party constitution,” Prof Nyong’o said in a statement after the meeting.
This means that the leadership positions will increase from the current 27 to 36, if the NDC adopts the resolutions made yesterday.
In 2012, the NDC had slashed the leadership positions from 54, which were created in 2007 to accommodate the then regional political kingpins, including Deputy President William Ruto and former deputy premier Musalia Mudavadi.
But the fierce campaigns that have created feuding factions apparently prompted the NGC to expand the party’s leadership after the five-hour meeting.
Leaders from the Coast region spoke passionately in opposition to the proposals, suggesting the move targets Joho, but their colleagues from Western Kenya also stuck to their guns in defence of Oparanya.
Wundanyi MP Thomas Mwadegu, who led the team of Coast MPs at Wednesday’s meeting between Namwamba and Joho, is among those who opposed the proposal to have two deputy party leaders. But he supported the proposal for the national treasurer to have two assistants.
Eldas MP Adan Keynan proposed that two positions be created for deputy party leader, two secretaries general and three deputy organising secretaries.
Busia Senator Amos Wako, who led a team of legal experts, moved the proposals.
But the NGC, which included MPs, senators, leaders of party organs and county chairpersons from the 57 counties, shot down a proposal to create positions for regional coordinators.
Funyula MP Paul Otuoma, who is eyeing the chairman’s seat, said: “You must know that there is a war going on from our competitors. I besiege you not to lose focus on our responsibility to unite the party and emerge stronger and emboldened after the elections.”
Wednesday’s night talks between Joho and Namwamba supporters added a twist to the campaigns. Wundanyi MP Mwadegu led MPs Mboko Juma (Mombasa County), Omari Mwinyi (Changamwe), Zainabu Chidzuga (Kwale) and Aisha Jumwa (Kilifi) at the talks to have Coast and Western Kenya delegates vote for the line-up at the NDC.
- The Standard
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