TEARS AS RAILA ODINGA FINALLY CALLS IT A DAY

The Raila Odinga-led Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) has resolved to exit the National Super Alliance (Nasa), an opposition coalition that nearly vanquished Jubilee in the 2017 General Election.

The party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) Thursday resolved to have the Orange party formally exit the coalition to pursue other partners ahead of the 2022 elections.

“We still hold that Nasa is the past. To further demonstrate this point, the NEC of ODM has today resolved to formally exit the Nasa Coalition,” ODM Secretary-General Edwin Sifuna announced after the NEC meeting chaired by party leader Raila Odinga.

Mr Sifuna said the party will now formally write to the Registrar of Political Parties on the resolution.

“The NEC has further deliberated on the future of the party and its need to make new friends. We intend to embark on a programme to build new partnerships and extend the ongoing talks with our potential partners to the grassroots,” Mr Sifuna said.

Regional meetings

He announced that regional meetings and engagements with like-minded parties have been planned.

“The Schedule for these will be shared in due course,” he said.

ODM’s withdrawal now marks the end of Nasa following the exit of Musalia Mudavadi’s Amani National Congress (ANC) and Kalonzo Musyoka’s Wiper party to join the One Kenya Alliance (OKA).

Nasa agreement states that the coalition ends if at least three parties have withdrawn.

Mr Sifuna he said the ODM NEC also deliberated on the dispute regarding the sharing of party funds with “our former partners in the Nasa coalition”.

“The offer to make certain payments to our former partners was made on a strictly without prejudice basis because from a plain reading of the coalition agreement, we owe nothing to our partners.

“They have argued before that all monies received by the party was shareable equally amongst all parties in the Nasa coalition which position has been dismissed by both the ORPP and the office of the Attorney-General because the money ODM receives is purely out of the number of votes received by ODM candidates for gubernatorial, parliamentary, and civic seats and does not include presidential votes,” said the party official.

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