Article 38 of the Constitution of Kenya gives all Kenyans the political rights; these are the rights to belong to a political party and to register as a member of a political party.
The rights also include participation in elections whether elections are called within a political party or across Kenya.
ODM has reenergised its membership drive across the country and our party leader Raila Odinga has been at the forefront of doing so.
The other weekend we were in Homa Bay county, by end of the week he had completed Nyanza and this is going to extend across Kenya.
As you know, ODM is the single most popular party and the largest party in Kenya.
These (recruitment drives) are party activities; they say nothing about who is running as a presidential candidate on behalf of the party in future.
What we know is that ODM as a political party, is a political outfit because it is fighting for a political power.
I can assure you that when elections will come, ODM will have a presidential candidate, and that candidate will come forth through the structures of the party.
If it will be Raila Odinga he will be our candidate, if he will be another person then he or she will be our candidate.
You must also know that in the past several elections, ODM has not been going for elections as a single party but in coalition with other parties.
This thing of tying every activity ODM is engaging in to what Raila could be intending to do, is misplaced.
If Raila will be a presidential candidate, he will be a candidate because the ODM party would have decided so.
Currently, ODM is engaged in party membership registration as an activity of the political party and it must also be clear that ODM is one of the parties which gets political parties funding.
Among the activities the law requires political parties to engage in with those funding is membership registration, and this is something that all well meaning parties are doing including UDA.
These are normal party activities which are funded by the public money and must be undertaken if the monies are to be properly used.
The Homa Bay Town MP spoke to the Star