West Mugirango MP James Gesami has assured members of ODM that he will concede defeat if he loses in ODM gubernatorial primaries in 2017.
Mr Gesami who serves as the party’s Nyamira County chair joined the gubernatorial race barely a fortnight ago and is expected to face a fierce battle from Mr Charles Mochama who was runners-up in 2013 polls.
But in an exclusive phone interview on Tuesday, Gesami insisted that he would support whoever wins the ODM party primaries and challenged his opponents to give a similar promise.
“I have been in politics for long and I won’t influence the outcome of ODM gubernatorial primaries. I will retire honorably if I lose to my competitors,” he said.
“The Orange party is bigger than any aspirant like me. I am ready to support whoever beats me in preliminaries and I expect them to sing the same tune,” Gesami added.
He urged ODM supporters to remain united ahead of elections and expressed his optimism that the party would win majority seats if nominations are respected.
“As ODM, we must remain united ahead of these polls. We can win more posts if outcome of primaries is respected. That is why I have insisted that I won’t hesitate to retire and support the winner if I lose,” he said.
Nyamira Governor John Nyagarama who was also elected on an ODM ticket is expected to seek reelection using the party.