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Raila kicks out elections boss Pareno in ODM revamp

 Nominated Senator and former ODM Elections Board chair Judith Pareno, who was removed on Tuesday.

In a grand housecleaning, ODM leader Raila Odinga has kicked out the party's largely discredited National Elections Board and overhauled the disciplinary committee to revamp the party ahead of 2022.

Raila on Tuesday fired the Judy Pareno-led elections board that had been accused of bungling party nominations, leading to ODM's poor showing in the 2017 General Election.

In the overhaul at Orange House, Raila tapped former commissioner in the now-defunct Constitution Implementation Commission Catherine Mumma as the new NEB boss.

Also appointed to sit in the board are former Wajir South MP Abdulahi Diriye, Richard Tairo, Syntei Nchoe and Emily Awita.

Prof Ben Sihanya takes over from city lawyer Fred Athuok as chairman of the disciplinary committee. The panel will have other new faces, including  Ramadhani  Abubakar, Mumbi Ngaru, Seth Kakusye and Dr Florence Omosa.

Raila's decision to appoint Mumma is aimed at tapping her extensive legal experience to implement far-reaching recommendations of the team that conducted an internal audit last year - with devastating conclusions.

Mumma chaired the five-member team that delivered a harsh verdict on a number of party organs, including the NEB, accusing it of staging poll violence to rig in their preferred aspirants.

The new elections board is expected to plan and conduct the party's much-awaited grassroots elections, which were suspended because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“The new NEB must quickly settle in and begin preparations for the Party Grassroots Elections.  The new Disciplinary Committee likewise is expected to settle down quickly and dispense with urgent pending disciplinary cases involving our MCAs from Nairobi, Bungoma and Nyamira counties," ODM said in a statement.

The details emerged after Raila chaired the ODM Central Management Committee, the key organ that runs the party affairs.

The ODM leader on Wednesday will chair the National Executive Committee to ratify the changes proposed by the management panel.

The NEB has been blamed for bungling nominations in which weak candidates were issued certificates in controversial circumstances, causing mass walkouts of supporters and aspirants.

In the 2017 elections, the party’s primaries, especially in its stronghold of Nyanza, were chaotic and many popular losers cryied foul. They defected to other parties and won.

ODM still has pending court cases arising from the 2017 primaries and in most of the cases, NEB members issued certificates to different aspirants for the same seat.

“The ODM party primaries have been described as the party's biggest vice. Party elections are thought to lack credibility and do not meet the standard of being free, fair and democratic,” the 2019 internal report by Mumma's team reads.

“The party structures, especially the NEC, NEB and the Secretariat, have been blamed for conducting their business in a manner that is not transparent and accountable and [they] are thought to be in the business of deliberately staging the chaotic and violent elections as a way of facilitating favourites to end up as nominees of ODM for the general election," it added.

The Mumma report was described by party insiders as the ‘moment of truth’.

The NEB and the disciplinary bodies will be sworn in  on Thursday at Orange House in a ceremony to be presided over by Raila.

“The new members of both Committees shall hold office for a term of five years.  It is our expectation the new members will begin work immediately as they will find their in-trays full,” ODM secretary general Edwin Sifuna said in a statement to newsrooms.

Sifuna called on the party members and supporters across the country to support the new teams as they strengthen the party.

ODM national chairman John Mbadi told the Star on Tuesday the term of the two bodies had expired.

They were due for disbandment, the positions were vacant. We didn't have a board, its term had expired," Mbadi said on the phone.

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