Ochilo Ayacko and five other politicians eying the Migori Senator seat have agreed to endorse the decision for the NEC to directly nominate the party’s candidate.
They also assured on Thursday that they
"will support the flag bearer picked by the party and ensure it retains the seat" and that "none of them will renege and resort to judicial challenge of the nomination" if not picked.
ODM National Chairman John Mbadi, who is Suba South MP, made the announcement in a statement to newsrooms on Thursday evening.
The statement followed a meeting of the aspirants with members of the
ODM National Elections Board and Central Committee, ahead of Thursday's meeting with the National Executive Council.
Aspirants Ayacko, John Pesa, Ochieng Mbeo, Willis Okelo, Gordon Ogola and Dalmas Otieno attended the meeting.
They are among eight contestants who had applied by close of applications on July 20. The other two are
Eddie Oketch and Mark Okundi.
The six hopefuls held consultations with officials including Mbadi and NEB chair
Judy Pareno.
They agreed that ODM
will invoke Rule 18.2 of the ODM elections and nominations rules and endorse the decision for the direct nomination.
They also agreed that the
NEC will employ an objective and verifiable criterion, including loyalty, popular support and integrity to pick the candidate so that ODM retains
the seat.
The chair reported that the politicians thanked the board for
reprimanding ODM's Migori officials who sought to usurp its role by convening an
electoral college to nominate a candidate
The party led by opposition leader Raila Odinga earlier dismissed the poll by Migori delegates which saw former minister Ayacko take the lead.
Pareno said ODM had nothing to do with the July 23 vote which showed the hopeful won 44 out of 77 votes.
This followed Migori branch chairman Philip Makabong'o's endorsement of Ayacko as the flag bearer in the by-election slated for October 8.
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