ODM formally joins Azimio la Umoja, endorses Raila for presidency

ODM Party Secretary-General Edwin Sifuna. [Samson Wire. Standard]

The Orange Democratic Party (ODM) has approved a decision to formally join Azimio la Umoja coalition.

The party’s National Executive Committee also endorsed Raila Odinga as its preferred presidential candidate in the upcoming General Election.

This was resolved during a party meeting held in Nairobi today, ahead of the National Governing Council (NGC) meeting to be held on Friday and Saturday.

ODM Secretary General Edwin Sifuna said the party also resolved amongst other things, “that the NGC adopts amendments to the party constitution to include the disability league and the council of county coordinating committee chairs as organs of the party.”

The committee will also be proposing to the NGC to adopt amendments to the party nomination rues to provide four methods of nominating party candidates namely; consensus, direct ticket, delegates system, and universal suffrage by registered members of the party.

On Wednesday, the Political Parties Dispute Tribunal (PPDT) ruled that the application to stop the NDC , which is set to endorse former Prime Minister Raila Odinga as the party’s presidential flag bearer, was premature and lacked merit. It was filed by businessman and politician Jimi Wanjigi

According to the tribunal, party members opposed to the NDC had not demonstrated that they had exhausted the party’s internal dispute resolution mechanisms before approaching the court and upheld a preliminary objection raised by ODM that PPDT lacked jurisdiction to handle the dispute.

ODM also wants the NDC to defer elections of national officials to sometime next year and that harmonization is done to fill existing vacancies in the NEC for the time being.

The party National Elections Board has also been directed to forthwith invite applications for candidates seeking the ODM ticket for positions of Governor, MP, and Member of County Assembly (MCA).

Nearly 4,000 Jubilee delegates are expected to attend a political jamboree where President Uhuru Kenyatta will formally endorse ODM leader Raila Odinga’s presidential bid.

Uhuru will lead the Jubilee Party in declaring support for Raila in a National Delegates Convention (NDC) planned for February 25 and 26.