IEBC: All set for Kericho, Malindi mini-polls

Supporters of Jubilee party in Kericho. Photo/ PSCU

NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 6 – The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) on Sunday said everything was in place for Monday’s by-elections in Malindi and Kericho.

Speaking from Malindi, IEBC Commissioner Thomas Letangule said the Commission was engaged in distributing the materials for use in the by-elections.

“We’re now dispatching election materials to the 100 polling stations across Malindi. In Malindi we have 55,800 voters. We expect a voter turn-out of approximately 50 percent plus because the stakes are high,” he said.

The IEBC Returning Officer in Kericho, Moses Sunkuli, said everything was also set on that end and assured voters both of their security and the sanctity of their votes.

“We have over 1,400 security officers manning this particular election, 623 political party agents and observers to ascertain the credibility of the poll,” he said.

Kericho voters go to the polls on Monday to elect a Senator as Charles Keter who they elected in 2013 was appointed to Cabinet while voters in Malindi, under similar circumstances, will vote in a new National Assembly representative following Dan Kazungu’s appointment as Mining Cabinet Secretary.

READ: Keter, Kiunjuri join new-look Uhuru Cabinet

The two top contenders in the Kericho Senatorial race are the Jubilee Alliance Party’s fresh faced Aaron Cheruiyot and KANU’s veteran politician Paul Sang.

READ: JAP, KANU in show of might as Kericho, Malindi mini-poll campaigns end

Given both JAP and KANU are affiliated to the ruling Jubilee coalition, the Kericho Senetorial by-election has been pegged as an in-house cockfight.

The Malindi race pits the ruling coalition against the opposition leaders, the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy.

The former Premier Raila Odinga’s Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) is seeking to replace Kazungu with another of its own: Willy Mtengo.

The ruling coalition’s candidate is Philip Charo.

About The Author

OLIVE BURROWS

With a decade of storytelling under her belt, Olive Burrows has been with Capital FM for the last four years and perhaps most notably interviewed US President Barack Obama. Committed to asking the hard questions and telling the story in the most engaging way possible, she has also interviewed Melinda Gates, a UK Minister and severally had the opportunity to sit across from President Uhuru Kenyatta and address the pressing issues of the day. Other notables she has had occasion to seek answers from are UN Secretary General António Guterres and John Kerry in his time as US Secretary of State.

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