Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

top

Kenya

Wiper’s Mule retains Matungulu seat

Thomas Musau of the New Democrats Party followed in second with 8,951 votes which represented a 33.7 percent

Thomas Musau of the New Democrats Party followed in second with 8,951 votes which represented a 33.7 percent

NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 18 – The Wiper Democratic Movement’s Stephen Mule staged a late comeback to retain his Matungulu Constituency seat.

Provisional results released by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission showed Mule garnered 11,867 votes marking a 43.83 percent of the total vote cast.

Thomas Musau of the New Democrats Party followed in second with 8,951 votes which represented a 33.7 percent.

Former Kangundo MP Moffat Maitha was third with 5,965 votes representing 22.46 percent of the total votes cast.

The provisional results show that the poll recorded a 56 percent voter turnout in an area that has 47,838 registered voters.

Mule survived a scare after he lost an early lead he had established early on Thursday evening.

The first time MP found himself trailing his competitors with 34 out of 117 polling stations.

Mule bounced back into the lead with 93/117 polling stations and never looked back, retaining the lead until when all the centres reported.

At the time, Mule leapfrogged his competitors after amassing 7,681 votes overtaking Musau who had 7,017 votes and Maitha 4,943 votes respectively.

Mule became the first Member of Parliament in the 11th Parliament to lose his seat following a successful High Court petition which overturned the election of the Wiper party MP.

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

High Court Judge Lillian Mutende in her ruling in July said irregularities in the polls were enough to make her conclude that the elections were not free and fair.

Four petitioners who were losers in the polls Thomas Malinda Musau, Stephen Ndambuki Mule, John Makenzi and a former MP Moffat Maithya filed the petition against Mule soon after the March polls.

The petitioners had complained that their agents were not allowed into the tallying centres and in some cases polling centres were opened late and closed early hence denying their supporters their constitutional right of voting.

Maithya testified that he was forced out of the tallying centre despite being a candidate in the polls.

During the hearing, the court ordered a recount of votes which still placed Mule in the lead with more than 2,262 votes.

About The Author

Comments
Advertisement

More on Capital News