Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party Chairman John Mbadi has pulled out of the race to become the next governor of Homabay County.
In a statement to his supporters Monday, the ODM chairman, who is also the Minority leader in the National Assembly, disclosed that even though it was difficult to exit the gubernatorial contest, the decision was borne out of his unquestionable commitment to the party, the quest for the national growth and stability and the support for his party leader Raila Odinga’s presidential bid.
He says he will now concentrate his energies on drumming up support for Raila to succeed President Uhuru Kenyatta in the August polls.
“In the interest of these, I have today withdrawn my bid from the Homabay County gubernatorial race. I will therefore henceforth place more effort in the Azimio presidential bid and the nationwide bid to have ODM secure as many seats as possible…tasks that I am sure I can positively add value to.“ the Suba south lawmaker said
Mbadi is said to have made a decision to bow out of the race to fly his party’s ticket after a consensus brokered by top echelons in the Raila-led outfit.
In the pact, Gladys Wanga is expected to fly the party’s flag for the gubernatorial race and deputized by Oyugi Magwanga.
Current Homabay Senator Moses Kajwang will run for the same seat. The party is expected to refund the gubernatorial aspirants their nomination fees.
Mbadi’s decision comes after it emerged that the ODM party has elected to hand tickets to most popular candidates as opposed to subjecting them to primaries.
