[ODM Party leader and presidential candidate Raila Odinga. He has called for six-piece voting during the August polls. Courtesy: The Standard]
Opposition coalition NASA presidential candidate Raila Odinga's call for six-piece voting has caused jitters and anxiety among candidates who lost the ODM Party ticket during the primaries in. Nyanza.
The ODM Party leader made the remarks on Saturday during the burial of the mother of former Ombudsman Otiende Amolo.
He urged Kenyans to reject independent candidates during the forthcoming general elections, casting them as spoilers.
He further challenged the independent candidates to shelve their ambitions and instead throw their weight behind Party ticket winners.
The call has, however, not gone down well with a section of independent candidates from the region, defending their move to vie as independents.
"I have over half of Mbita voters supporting my bid and they were infuriated by the bungled primaries, which denied me the party ticket," Mbita parliamentary aspirant Gym Akali Agembe noted.
On their part, Kasipul counterparts Okindo Majiwa and Isaac Ongiri urged Mr Odinga not to shun independents.
"I am appealing to Raila to let Nyanza residents elect leaders of their own choice. His presidential bid is more important than who wins the other seats," Ongiri stated.