June 24th 2013 Key backers of former Prime Minister Raila Odinga have revealed that he lost last presidential election due to internal wrangles, supremacy wars and indiscipline within his party.
Details are also emerging on how outgoing MPs and seniorparty officials in his Orange Democratic
Unknown to Raila, who was on the campaign trail chasing after a victory that he had realistic chances of grasping, his top aides, outgoing ODM MPs and senior party officials who ran his campaign secretariat spent most of their time fighting for personal interests.
The fight for nomination certificates and control of campaign funds that turned the Orange House in Nairobi into a battlefield sapped momentum from Raila’s presidential campaign, eventually slowing the tempo in the final days to the elections.
This happened as Raila divided his time between putting out fires lit by the primaries in his strongholds and national campaigns.
Sources close to the former Premier say had things gone as planned, the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD) presidential candidate would have beaten President Uhuru in the first round.
In an exclusive interview with The County Weekly, the Chairman of ODM’s elections board and former Roads minister Franklin Bett spilled the beans, saying although the party was tipped to win the elections with a landslide, senior officials laid the ground for Raila’s defeat.
Votes stolen
Bett for the first time revealed how he fell victim to machinations of corrupt networks within the party, forcing him to take a break from active politics.
In the run-up to the elections, Bett surprised his supporters when he announced he would not be contesting any elective post in his Kericho County.
The former Roads minister said he did his best to salvage democracy in ODM but paid the price of fighting a lonely court battle after a party official he had suspended over the sale of nomination certificates sued him.
“At worst, Uhuru could have won the first round with a slim margin that would have seen them go into a run-off. Although some of Raila’s votes were stolen, it was clear something went awfully wrong during the campaigns,” claimed a former ODM minister from western Kenya on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.He added: “The registration of voters in Raila’s strongholds fell below expectations. The excuse was that many people, especially women and youth had no Identity cards yet Raila’s close ally, Homa Bay Senator Otieno Kajwang’, was in charge of the ministry,”
He continued: “We knew we were headed for rough times when it emerged none of our strongholds had gone past the 80 per cent mark in voter registration yet Uhuru and Mr William Ruto’s regions had surpassed the 100 per cent mark.”
The County Weekly has learnt that three months after the elections, the question of why Raila lost remains an emotive issue as his aides continue to blame one another.
Recalling events that led to CORD’s electoral loss, Bett expressed regret that the incumbent MPs at the time, especially from Nyanza, manipulated ODM nominations in their favour, causing violent rebellion across the region.
According to the ODM elections boss, the incumbents conspired to have themselves nominated to various electoral positions, believing that securing the party’s certificate at that stage assured them of victory in the General Election.
‘‘Some of the MPs held the view that it was their right to be nominated and demanded it,” Bett said.
Although some people pointed accusing fingers at Bett for the acrimonious ODM party primaries that threw swathes of Luo Nyanza into riots, he says the blame rests squarely on MPs and party officials for messing up the exercise.
The former Bureti MP is angry that simple mistakes by top aides cost Raila the presidency and now wants the entire ODM secretariat sent home, to give Raila room to reinvent himself.
He also blamed the CORD co-principals — then Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka of Wiper Democratic
‘‘The burden of loss for CORD should also be shared with both Wetangula and Kalonzo. They didn’t do enough during the campaigns.”
Bett believes that for Raila to remain relevant, he has to take a new approach in marketing himself.
‘‘Mr Odinga has got to re-engineer his network. He has to completely re-invent himself and his political machine if he is to become Kenya’s next president,” Bett said.
The former minister believes the former PM would not manage CORD well from outside Parliament, as it would make him vulnerable.
‘‘You know an MP can say anything and get away with it because of parliamentary immunity and privileges,’’ he explained.
“Outside Parliament, Raila even risks being sued since there is no immunity. He has to be careful!’’ he cautioned.
Bett says the three CORD principals must
But reactions to Bett’s allegations were swift with outgoing ODM Executive Director and nominated Senator Janet Ong’era arguing her office should not be blamed for Raila’s poor performance and directed the blame at the CORD Presidential Campaign Secretariat.
Robbed victory
“The ODM secretariat was charged with party primaries, parliamentary and senatorial campaigns. On that front, we delivered because ODM has majority MPs,
But a member of the Wiper Party, Johnstone Muthama says it is wrong to blame the CORD Presidential campaign team, saying the coalition did a commendable job but was robbed of victory.
“Those saying we did a shoddy job are liars. The elections were marred by malpractices championed by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission and other players with the aim of blocking Raila from winning the presidency. The CORD team did its best,” said Muthama.
He added: “We have, all the same, learnt a lesson that there is a ruthless attitude by some people who think the leadership of this country will always belong to them. I am urging Kenyans to respect Raila and Kalonzo because of their fight for democracy.”
Many Nyanza MPs however deny claims by Mr Bett that they may have played a role in Raila’s defeat. Kisumu Town West MP John Olago Aluoch, who won the seat on a Ford Kenya ticket after being locked out of ODM, accused Bett of trying to cover up for his mistakes.
“He is to blame for the nominations fiasco. He allowed top party officials to manipulate him. He disregarded the wishes of the people and this disappointed the voters,” claimed Olago.
He also downplayed Bett’s allegations that there was massive voter apathy in Nyanza saying regions like Kisumu recorded a high turnout.
Former Nyakach MP Pollyns Ochieng’, who lost the ODM nominations, blamed Ong’era for the confusion that rocked the party.
He claimed the nominations were a sham and played a big role in Raila’s loss.
-Reports by Obote Akoko, Protus Onyango and Rusdie Oudia
Former Nyakach MP Pollyns Ochieng’, who lost the ODM nominations, blamed Ong’era for the confusion that rocked the party.
He claimed the nominations were a sham and played a big role in Raila’s loss.
-Reports by Obote Akoko, Protus Onyango and Rusdie Oudia
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