The ruling Jubilee party is seeking to overturn the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party’s triumph in the just concluded Kiambaa by-election.
The President Uhuru Kenyatta-led party has expressed dissatisfaction in the manner in which the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) managed the mini-polls.
During the July 15, 2021 polls that sought to replace MP Paul Koinange who succumbed to cancer on March 31, UDA’s Njuguna Wanjiku beat Jubilee’s Karanja Kariri Njama to emerge victorious.
Njuguna overcame stiff competition from Jubilee Party candidate Kariri Njama to emerge victorious with 21,773 votes.
Kariri garnered 21,263 votes in a contest that went down to the wire.
Jubilee party is now seeking a recount of votes, arguing that the electoral agency favored the UDA candidate, a party associated with Deputy President William Ruto.
Njama had on Friday challenged Njuguna’s win saying that his lawyers were following up and would file a case to challenge the win and stop his swearing-in.
Njama had also stated that he would petition the court to compel IEBC to recount the votes. Murang’a Woman Rep Sabina Chege also backed the calls by Njama to have the votes recounted.
IEBC suspended the Kiambaa constituency vote tallying Friday morning after Njama and his supporters stormed into the tallying centre and caused a fracas.
Njama and his supporters alleged that IEBC under Wafula Chebukati were tilting elections in the favour of UDA’s Njuguna Wanjiku.
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