NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 24 -The Orange Democratic Movement Party (ODM) has opposed the move to register and reserve three political names that resemble that of the political party.
In a joint statement, the party Chairperson John Mbadi, and Secretary General Edwin Sifuna have written to the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties (ORPP) Anne Nderitu to object the reservation of the names.
In a letter dated March 13th, Kisumu former CEC for Roads and Works Thomas Owiti had written to the ORPP seeking the nod for reservation of ODM Asili, ODM Kamili, and ODM Mpya.
“The application in question for the reservations of the names not only offends section 8 of the Political Parties Act but smacks of a sinister move geared at causing confusion within our membership and the public in general on the proper functioning of our party,” the duo stated.
The Raila Odinga-led coalition is calling on the Nderitu to dismiss the request by the applicant saying it’s seeking the reservation outside the ambits of the law.
“To enhance sanity in political parties’ registration and management we, therefore, urge your office to uphold the law by dismissing the application for failing to meet the legal threshold,” the joint statement read.
ODM is the largest political party in Kenya born out of a protracted struggle for reforms in Kenya.
ODM Party was born out of the NO (Orange) team that spearheaded the defeat of the retrogressive draft constitution in November 2005 with a view to restarting the constitution-making process.
The Orange victory at the referendum transformed the movement into a major political party, the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) which Raila Odinga and current Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi captained.
