The just concluded Ugenya and Embakasi South by-elections were a learning curve for the famed ODM party who lost in both cases to little known MDG parties and the wiper respectively even after weeks camping and campaigning for their candidates.
The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) leaders on Saturday put on a brave face, acknowledging that it was a humiliating performance in the Ugenya and Embakasi South by-elections was a wakeup call.
Starting from the embarrassing defeat of its candidates Christopher Karani (Ugenya) and Irshad Sumra (Embakasi South), ODM Director of Elections Junet Mohamed and Director of Political Affairs Opiyo Wandayi said the party will, without a doubt, return to the drawing board to find out what went wrong.
Mr Mohamed issued a statement in which he congratulated the winners and lauded voters for demonstrating political maturity.
Mr Mohamed said the President’s decision not to field candidates made the by-elections a friendly contest among allies. David Ochieng (Movement for Democracy and Growth) won in Ugenya while Julius Mawathe (Wiper Democratic Movement) won in Embakasi South.
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In Ugenya, Mr Ochieng of the little-known MDG, which he founded after leaving ODM in 2017, trounced Mr Karan who was defending the seat after it was nullified by getting 4,223 votes, upsetting the political equation in a region where the orange party enjoys a great followership.
Mr Ochieng, a former MP in the constituency, garnered 18,730 votes against Mr Karani’s 14,507 votes, out of the 33,342 votes cast.
In Embakasi South, Mr Mawathe won the seat by garnering 21,628 votes against Mr Sumra’s 7,988 votes.
Political pundits opine that the outcome of the polls could be an indicator of an emerging politically mature electorate and what to expect in future elections, a generation that is little cautious of political divisions.
Both elections were peaceful and voters exercised sobriety and tolerance during and even after the results were announced.
Political experts say ODM will need to review aspects including direct party nominations, which seem to have worked against it in the by-elections as voters looked beyond party affiliations and loyalty.
If the performance of ODM’s preferred candidates is anything to go by, it will need to exercise caution in future to ensure it picks the people’s best choices, above everything else.
Mr Odinga’s party will also need to review campaigns, the lesson being the need to focus more on ideologies and deliverables as opposed to side shows and political bickering.
In the Ugenya by-election for instance, ODM campaign team leader James Orengo (Siaya Senator) devoted more time to attacking Deputy President William Ruto than he did to drumming up support for the party’s candidate.
The other flaw in the ODM campaigns was that candidates and campaign teams appeared to rely more on political rallies than on engaging voters at a personal level.
Mr Wandayi said the party was unshaken by the loss but admitted that changes needed to be made to prevent such outcomes in the future.
Although he could not immediately pinpoint what he thought worked against the orange party, he said an audit was necessary.
