On Wednesday, the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) took a radical step by disbanding its National Election Board (NEB), initiating a reform that decentralizes party elections to the grassroots.
ODM Secretary General Edwin Sifuna announced a two-tier election management system at the county and national levels.
In the radical reform, a Coordinating Committee reporting directly to the Central Committee will supervise national party elections.
The ODM Secretary General stated that this move is “aimed at enhancing efficiency, fostering greater credibility, and empowering the grassroots to assume a more central role in alignment with the Party’s commitment to devolution.”
“For the sake of continuity and institutional memory, the party will retain two members of the defunct NEB in the new Coordinating Committee at the national level, namely Richard Tairo and Emily Awita. The Central Committee has proposed Beatrice Askul, from Turkana County to be the third member of the committee. Emily Awita is proposed to chair the committee. These proposals shall be presented to the relevant organs for ratification in accordance with the Party constitution,” Sifuna said.
Accordingly, the party intends to initiate a series of recruitment activities across counties. Sifuna expressed concern, stating that budget cuts affecting political funding were hindering party operations.
“The regime cut funds allocated to parties by over 60 per cent. This year the onslaught has continued with further cuts. This is a clear demonstration of the regime’s intent to cripple all key institutions of democracy from Parliament to the Judiciary to the political parties. We shall however not wait on the benevolence of our tormentors. We shall trudge on as we know their intentions are to stall our activities and operations and return the country to a single-party dictatorship,” the Nairobi Senator said.
