By MN Reporter

The senator race for Orange Democratic Movement ticket is not over after a court order stopped the party from handing over direct ticket to Eddy Oketch.

Willis Misare, an aspirant moved to the Political Parties Disputes Tribunal (PPDT)and sought orders to restrain IEBC from receiving and publishing Oketch’s name as the party’s nominee for Migori.

Through his lawyer Omwanza Ombati, Misare argued that he complied with party requirements by sending his application documents seeking to be nominated as the candidate for the seat on time, complete with the required fees.

But the party gave Oketch a direct ticket after the ODM National Elections Board (NEB) called meeting at a Nairobi hotel on March 5, 2022.

Misare claimed the party national chair John Mbadi invaded the meeting and read opinion polls which placed Oketch ahead.

Misare claimed they were “unpublished and/or fake opinion polls. ODM Migori ticket would be issued without engaging the voters as mandated by the party constitution.”

He claimed the ticket was issued “without consensus or primary elections according to Rule 24 of the ODM Party Election and Nomination Rules, 2014 which provides for nominations to be undertaken through universal suffrage.”

Misare said he wanted nomination fees of Sh125,000 and additional Sh70,000 as appeals fee  in respect to the office of the Senatorial nominations.

 “The said amounts are an impediment to access to justice through the party’s Internal Dispute Resolution Mechanisms for being excessive in the circumstances. The Applicant is a beneficiary of the affirmative action program as a youth where he paid Kshs. 125,000 instead of Kshs. 250,000 as nomination fees to enable him participate in the party primaries.” Misare said in court.