Kisumu Woman Representative Ruth Odinga has maintained that the party leader is the automatic presidential candidate under the party’s constitution unless the rules are amended.
Ruth said it was premature to discuss any other person as the party’s presidential flag bearer while the party leader remains in office.
The ODM Party leader is Siaya Senator Oburu Oginga, who took over the mantle following the death of his brother and the former Prime Minister, Raila Odinga.
“The presidential candidate must be the party leader of the party. We cannot therefore talk about somebody else being a party presidential candidate, yet the party leader who is supposed to be the candidate is there,” she said.
She insisted that the party’s constitution is clear on the matter and challenged those seeking a different arrangement to first push for constitutional changes through the party’s National Delegates Conference (NDC).
“And I’m not afraid to say things because the truth must be said, and it will not rot; the truth will remain.”
“Let us sit down, have an NDC, change the constitution and say that anybody else can become a presidential candidate if it is not for the party leader. But before they change that, the only person who can become the party presidential candidate is the party leader of that party,” she added.
However, in May, Oburu declared that he will defend his Siaya Senate seat in the 2027 general election while assuring party aspirants that ODM nominations will be free and fair.
Speaking during the ODM Nyanza Region Aspirants Convention in Kisumu, Oburu urged leaders to focus on service delivery, unity and grassroots mobilisation ahead of the 2027 polls.
The ODM party leader said the party will not field a presidential candidate in next year’s general election and will instead back President William Ruto’s re-election bid.
Oburu noted that negotiations for a pre-election agreement with the President’s team were now complete.
ODM party elected leaders in the region have been telling their supporters to wait for the direction that Oburu will give for the party.
The leaders said they had given Oburu the mandate to negotiate with leaders from other political parties for a pre-election coalition agreement.
Oburu said they had scrutinised the track record of various presidential aspirants and found all of them except President Ruto wanting.
“I want to make it official that ODM will not field a presidential candidate in next year’s general election. Instead, we are going to support President Ruto to be elected again for a second term,” he said.
He said Ruto had shown statesmanship by forming the broad-based government and incorporating ODM members into his government, adding that they needed to reciprocate.
“We didn’t vote for this government, but we were incorporated through the backdoor because Ruto loved us,” Oburu said.
