Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) Leader Raila Odinga has appointed a seven-member panel to vet and advise him on the best running mate candidate.
In a statement read by the coalition’s Secretary General Junet Mohamed, Odinga who is also the Azimio Presidential candidate stated that the names of successful candidates must be submitted before May 10.
“The vetting of candidates and the subsequent nomination of a candidate for this critical post is thus a matter of the utmost national importance to be undertaken in the spirit of inclusivity,” said Mohamed.
The 7-member team shall include Bishop Peter Njenga, Archbishop Zachaos Okoth, Senator Enoch Wambua and Michael Orwa.
Other members are Former MP Noah wekesa, Sheikh Khalifa and Beatrice Askul.
The panel Secretary shall be Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Elizabeth Meyo.
The 7-member team will sieve through the list of probable candidates and arrive at a decision through consensus.
The first onslaught for the team will be to agree on the rules of procedure for arriving at key running mate candidate for the coalition which has a sore thumb for the coalition.
“I don’t want to speculate on behalf of the team, but they will have their sitting and come with the way of identifying at candidates. They will come up with the methodology they want to use,” said Mohammed.
The Suna East MP defended the method to arrive at a running mate for Odinga saying it’s the best international practice.
“You know they are candidates who running mate for the media, but this committee will tell us who is the candidate for the media and who is the candidate for the people. We cannot do this exercise in futility,” Mohamed noted.
The seven-member team was appointed by Odinga after a decision was made during the inaugural meeting since Azimio coalition was formed that was chaired by President Uhuru Kenyatta.