ODM reviews 41 appeals from grassroots elections, six to proceed to Appeals Committee

The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) has announced that six appeals filed following its nationwide grassroots elections in November 2024 will be forwarded to the party's Appeals Committee for further hearing.

The party's Secretary-General, Edwin Sifuna, made the announcement on Friday after the first meeting of the ODM Central Committee for the year, which took place in Kileleshwa, Nairobi.

According to Sifuna, a total of 41 appeals were filed by members contesting the results of the elections held across all 47 counties.

After reviewing the petitions, the party found that only six had sufficient evidence to warrant further investigation.

"Following the largely successful grassroots elections in November at polling units in all the 47 Counties, the Party received 41 Appeals. The cases have been reviewed for merit with most of them being found to be frivolous," Sifuna explained.

"A total of 6 appeals were found to be supported by evidence and will be proceeding to hearing before the Party's Appeals Committee."

Lack of substantial evidence

Sifuna further clarified that the remaining 35 appeals were dismissed for lack of substantial evidence to support the claims made.

As the appeals process moves forward, the party has appointed three senior members to serve on the Appeals Committee.

They will be tasked with reviewing the six cases that have been deemed to have merit.

"The Central Committee has seconded Abdulswamad Sheriff, Rosa Buyu, and Ahmed Abdisalan to be members of the Appeals Committee for purposes of the 6 appeals, "Sifuna said.

Once the Appeals Committee completes its hearings, the ODM's National Elections Coordinating Committee (NECC) will make a final ruling.

The party will then announce the dates for upcoming elections at the ward, constituency, and county levels.

"Upon conclusion of this process, the NECC shall be announcing dates for the elections at ward, constituency, and county levels," Sifuna said.

In addition to the appeals process, Sifuna also congratulated those who were successfully elected in the grassroots elections.

He assured those elected that the NECC would issue certificates to candidates who fully complied with the party's election rules, including the payment requirements.

"The Party congratulates all those elected in the various positions and has directed the NECC to issue certificates to the successful candidates who fully complied with the rules, including the requirement on payments," he added.