The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party has made significant structural changes by disbanding its National Elections Board (NEB) to decentralize election management down to the grassroots level.
Secretary-General Edwin Sifuna announced this decision on Wednesday, following a proposal from the party’s central committee during their inaugural meeting of 2024.
As per the new arrangement, all party elections will now be overseen at the county level, with two elections coordinators, one male and one female, appointed for each county.
Sifuna emphasized that this move aims to enhance efficiency, credibility, and empower the grassroots in alignment with the party’s commitment to devolution.
The coordinating committee at the national level will consist of three members, directly reporting to the party’s central committee.
Richard Tairo and Emily Awita, former members of the dissolved NEB, will be retained in this new coordinating committee, alongside Beatrice Askul from Turkana County. Emily Awita will chair the committee.
ODM also announced the continuation of its grassroots recruitment initiative initiated last year.
The recruitment drive is scheduled for Busia County on January 15, Vihiga on January 16, Bungoma on January 17, Lamu on January 22, and Tana River on January 23.
Kilifi County will undergo the exercise on January 24, Taita Taveta on January 25, Kwale on January 26 and Mombasa on January 27.
Sifuna also criticized the ruling Kenya Kwanza administration for ongoing cuts in funding for political parties, describing it as a deliberate attempt to weaken key democratic institutions.
He accused the government of slashing party funds by over 60% in the first supplementary budget of September 2023, continuing such reductions this year.
Despite these challenges, Sifuna affirmed the party’s commitment to persist in its activities, resisting any attempts to revert the country to a single-party dictatorship.
