A Member of Parliament has said Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party lost the Ugenya by-election partly because of Siaya Senator James Orengo.
Bondo MP Gideon Ochanda said ODM’s candidate Chris Karan was shown the red card by voters as a protest against Orengo who has reportedly been using the party’s platforms to campaign for his 2022 gubernatorial race.
“Karan’s loss could have been protest votes against Orengo who has come out to start 2022 campaigns,” the MP said.
The MP added that 2022 succession politics in Siaya county was also to blame for ODM’s loss as some leaders did not show up for vote hunting.
Another issue blamed on the loss is shambolic campaigns that saw ODM’s rivals in the Movement for Democracy and Growth (MDG) a foot ahead in reaching out to voters.
“Karan was not in charge of his campaigns and with other people being in charge, it appeared uncoordinated. The 2022 succession politics made some leaders give the ODM campaigns a wide berth and these also divided leaders, making them stay away,” Ochanda added.
The loss has left ODM in embarrassment and the party’s director of elections Junet Mohammed said they are reviewing what went wrong.