[Ugunja MP Opiyo Wandayi. He has warned aspirants who lost during the Party primaries from vying as Independent candidates. Courtesy: The Star]
Ugunja MP Opiyo Wandayi has challenged candidates drawn from Nyanza and lost during the just concluded ODM Party primaries to bow out of the race instead of seeking mandate from the electorate as Independents.
Speaking to The Star Newspaper on Thursday, the legislator noted that independent candidates in Nyanza do not stand a chance of winning the forthcoming general elections, urging them to shelve their ambitions in preparations for the 2022 polls.
"Those who call themselves independent candidates have no space in Nyanza or any ODM stronghold," he said.
"They [should] reduce congestion by saving their campaign resources for 2022," he added.
He further announced that the Orange Party is keen to win all the six elective seats in Nyanza region.
Many candidates who lost during the hotly contested primaries in Nyanza and many parts of the country have opted to vie as Independents.
In Luo Nyanza for instance, Rarieda MP Nicholas Gumbo who lost the Siaya governorship ODM ticket to the incumbent governor Cornel Rasanga is set to vie as an independent candidate.
A similar fate met former Cabinet Minister Ochillo Ayacko, who lost the Migori gubernatorial ODM ticket to governor Okoth Obado.