ODM Party leader Raila Odinga at a past event. Photo/ standardmedia.co.ke
With NASA affiliate parties continuing to lose their elected leaders to Jubilee amid a defection wave at the Coast, ODM Party leader Raila Odinga has downplayed the significance of such defections saying the region is firmly in opposition.In an interview with the Star, the former Prime Minister dismissed claims that the Coast region, which overwhelming voted for Cord in 2013, is slowly shifting to Jubilee."The purported defections you are being told are laughable. Some people who were paraded in Tononoka have been defecting for months. Others have just been bought. How does that translate into votes? Our people have remained with us and will teach defectors painful lesson in August," said Raila. Raila, who returned to the country from his tour of the US on Monday night, said most of the defectors have already lost the elections, adding that they are going to replace them with strong candidates.Just a fortnight ago, Taita Taveta Senator Dan Mwazo ditched the Raila-led party for Jubilee and has now vowed to unseat Governor John Mruttu of ODM.Governor Hussein Dado of Tana River who was elected on a Wiper ticket, also broke ranks with the party and joined Jubilee, which he'll use to defend his seat.