THE ODM SHOULD CARRY OUT A POST-MORTEM THROUGH AUDITING AND DISCOVER ITS AFTERMATH OF THEIR DISMALL PERFORMANCE AND ANY OTHER LOOP HOLES.

News Analysis By Leo Odera Omolo

NOW that the genera elections of March 4, 2013 has come and gone leaving behind many looming faces of the election losers, and at the same time, the jovial faces of the winners, the time is ripe for major political parties to take the stock of what happened during the polls.

Instead of engaging in the blame games, these parties should go back to the drawing boards of their secretariat and immediately start examining the reasons why some of them had performed disastrously below their expectation.

I would rather concentrate in examining in detailed accounts, some of the most valid reasons why the Orange Democratic Movement {ODM], the party which has its stronghold inside Luo-Nyanza.

The ODM performed dismally in Nyanza. First of all there was apathy on the part of the registered voters. Only a paltry number came out to cast their voters, while the majority stayed at home. This is contrary to claims by the IEBC that the turn out in many places of Nyanza Province, the turn out was slightly above the 75 percent.

The most populous constituencies inside Luo-Nyanza are Ugenya, Rongo,Kasipul-Kabondo and Karachuoyo. And going by the statistics of the votes casted, this was far much below the voting patter shown in 2007, Rongo,Ugenya,Kasipul-Kabondo had all been subdivided into two parliamentary constituencies.

The populous Karachuonyo remained intact, while the old Rangwe created the Homa-Bay Town constituency. At the same time Migori saw the birth of the Suna East and Suna West

Ugunja was curved out of the of Ugenya, while there were major constituencies realignment in areas like Kisumu Town West and Kisumu Rural constituencies with the creation of the Kisumu Town Central and Seme constituencies. The creations of these rather smaller constituencies, however, were insignificant as far as the voting pattern in the region was concerned. This did not alter the voting pattern

What happened is the fact that the immediate former Luo MPs who had served in the 10th Parlilament did not bother to sensitize the population to register themselves as voters in their respective constituencies during the registration of voter’s exercises.

Out of the 21 MPs from Luo-Nyanza none came home and mobilized or sensitized the rural folks in their respective constituencies to take the voter’s registration exercise seriously.

The Luo MPs only made cosmetic appearances in their rural constituencies during the emotionally charged burial and funeral ceremonies. These MPs spent most their valuable times trailing the Prime Minister Raila Amolo Odinga wherever he went.

The people who are credited for having let down the Prime Minister down were Ministers Gerald Otieno Kajwang’, {Immigration and Registration of Persons, Dalmas Otieno {Public Services}, James Aggrey Orengo,{Lands}and Prof.Anyang’ Nyong’o{Medical Services}.

Two Assistant Ministers also had the lackluster performance. These were the PM’s own elder brother Dr Oburu Oginga, the Finance Assistant Minister. Also contributing immensely to the ODM waned popularity were the frequent belligerence and reckless utterances of the PM’s cousin Jakoyo Midiwo the MP for Gem.

There were too much undercurrent and undercutting among the Luo MPs and the ODM local party branch officials, something which had placed the Luo-Nyanza under the election mood all the time.

The registration of voter’s exercises came about in Luo-Nyanza at the time when the relations between the Luo MPs and members of the Provincial Administration had gone a sour.

The administrators who included PCs, DCs.Dos, Chiefs and Assistant Chiefs are the pillers of administration within the localities and have always been responsible f9rmobilizingthe voters during the voters registration exercises.

IMMEDIATELY SOON AFTER THE ADOPTION OF THE NEW Constitution, some of the Luo MPs went around shouting at the members of the Provincial Administration asking them to pack and go, “because their services were no longer needed. These administrators were humiliated in nearly all the public gatherings. This what killed their morale of serving the public.

On one occassi9on the whole Minister Otieno Kajwang’ [Immigration and MP for Mbita went public and requested the administrat0orstopackandgo.

The Minister’s utterances prompted the then Assistant Minister for the Internal Security and Provincial Administration the late Joshua Orwa Oj0de and his then boss Prof.George Saitoti to withdrew the entire administration officials in Mbita district.

Mbita district despite its proximity to the sensitive border was without the D.C. for close to six months.It was the OCPD who remained the senior most government official in Mbita durng the period when the D.C. was not there.There were no DO

[1], Do for Lambwe Division and D.O.in-charge of Mfangano Dvision.

Answering a parliamentary question as to why the government had not posted a DC to Mbita, Ojode told hushed House that there were no plan of posting any D.C. to the area as the services of this calibre of officer were not required by the residents. And this was precisely the time when the voter’s registration exercises was taking place in the area. The chiefs relaxed and went about their daily scores without urging the population to register themselves as the voters.

In Rongo district some unknown people hired six vehicle loaded with political goons hired from 0utside Rongo constituency and send them to Kitere village specifically to go and break a meeting of local elders.The fighting that ensued saw close to7people hacked to death by the villagers.

Despite of the death of people, investigations were done haphazardly carried out and nobody was punished for this heinous crime. Rongo is the constituency represented by Hon.Dalmas Otieno.

On top of all this the ODM primary nomination was the most flawed exercises.It was mismanaged by the ODM headquarters and even some senior staff at the PM’s office and also at the Orange House headquarters were heard giving the names of people considered as not favored by Raila Odinga whom they advised not to be issued with nomination certificates even if such persons had won their primaries.

As Raila Odinga traversed the country while canvassing for the votes for his presidential bid,some people perceived to be close to him were engaged in political war of attrition in his Luo backyard.

Ends