Raila’s party abandons tech, to use hands to elect officials

The Orange Democratic Movement has scrapped use of anti-fraud technology in its grassroots elections and will resort to raising hands to elect new ward and constituency officials.

Raila Odinga’s opposition party on Thursday announced raising hands as one of the methods of picking officials, despite acquiring Sh200 million in voting devices just three years ago.

The technology was deployed during the party primaries in the run-up to the 2022 elections. The deployment of digital voting was meant, among other measures, to curb electoral fraud and ensure credibility of the exercise that in the past had been marred by chaos and violence.

In the digital voting, party members had their biometrics displayed before being allowed to vote and once a member cast his or her vote, it was transmitted electronically to the designated tallying centre.

The devices also ensured a person could only vote once. It was widely expected that the outfit would use the same devices in the grassroots elections starting next month.But on Thursday, National Elections Coordinating Committee (NECC) chairperson Emily Awita directed that the anticipated polls will be either by consensus or voting by a show of hands

“Elections will be conducted through consensus or voting by a show of hands,” Awita said in a communication to party members dated Thursday.

“Only delegates elected at the poling unit level will be eligible to participate as voters or candidates.” The party conducted grassroots elections at the polling stations in November last year.

NECC is mandated—by the ODM constitution—to plan, organise, direct, conduct, supervise and co-ordinate all party elections and nominations of candidates, including grassroots polls. According to the communication, the Party will conduct sub-branch (ward) elections on April 7 across all the 47 counties.

“The branch (constituency) elections will be held on Wednesday, April 9, 2025, at designated centres across the 290 constituencies nationwide,” Awita said.

A total of 77 party officials will be elected at subbranch and branch levels across the four committees – Mainstream, Women’s league, Youth League and Disability League.

In the mainstream, the positions to be filled include chairperson, deputy chairperson, secretary, deputy secretary, treasurer, deputy treasurer, organizing secretary, and his or her deputy.

The delegates will also elect the Secretary for Women, Youth, Disability, and Special Interest Group representative. In addition, the mainstream will also have eight officials designated as committee members.

Awita said the remaining committees—Women’s League, Youth League, and Disability League—will elect chairpersons, deputy chairpersons, secretaries, deputy secretary, treasurer, deputy treasurer, Organising secretary and his deputy secretaries, and special interest group representatives.

They will be joined by 11 additional committee members. Aggrieved members will have 12 hours following the declaration of results to lodge Complaints.

Ward results require a Sh15,000 fee to contest results. Contesting constituency results will require a Sh30,000 fee. UDA is also expected to conduct its second phase of grassroots elections from April 11 to12 accross 22 counties.