By Peter Ochieng
The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party will conduct grassroots elections starting end of this month.
The resolution was arrived at during the party’s meeting of the central management committee held on Wednesday, in Nairobi, led by leader Raila Odinga.
The exercise will be staggered across the country, starting on April 27, 2024 where ODM members in Busia, Kwale and Siaya Counties will go to the polls.
Kajiado, Migori and Wajir will follow on April 29, before the exercise is conducted in Kisii, Vihiga and Murang’a a day later.
The party said a timetable covering the next batch of counties will be shared in due course.
The elections will be held alongside the ongoing party registration exercise, so as to strengthen the party ahead of the 2027 polls.
“We are particularly encouraged by the number of young men and women who have expressed interest in vying for leadership. It is the greatest assurance that the party has a future and is still seen as a viable tool for national leadership,” the party said in a statement read to the press by Secretary General, and Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna.
He called out the Kenya Kwanza regime for failing to release political parties’ funds as stipulated in the constitution.
Concerning the ongoing doctors’ strike, ODM says the government must implement the 2017 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), which has been one of the major reasons for the industrial action, that is in its third week.
“We see an equally pedestrian and dismissive approach to the doctors’ strike and its impact on ordinary Kenyans. There seems to be neither commitment nor capacity by the government to resolve the matter.”
“We take this position that the government must immediately respect and implement the 2021 court ruling which directed the Ministry of Health and the 47 county governments to implement the basic salary as per the agreed, signed and registered CBA of 2017/2021.”
On the fake fertiliser scandal, Odinga, Sifuna and co want heads to roll at the Ministry of Agriculture, the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) and the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB).
In addition, the opposition leaders want a 50-kilogram bag of subsidised fertiliser to be sold at Sh1,500 instead of the current Sh2,500.