Simon Kiambi will be contesting for the Kiagu Ward by-elections on a UDA ticket, having emerged victorious in the Party nominations on Saturday.
Kiambi garnered a total of 1,923 votes in the hotly contested nomination exercise, while Richard Mwangi came in second with 1,211 votes.
Other contestants seeking the UDA ticket were Daniel Mawira (708 votes), Boniface Munene Murithi (345 votes), Jimmy Kinyua Kimathi (83 votes) and Denis Kiogora (68 votes).
The United Democratic Alliance (UDA) attracted several interested candidates due to its growing popularity in Meru County and other Mt. Kenya areas.
With a voter turnout of close to 50% in the UDA primaries, it is expected that Simon Kiambi will be headed for a major win in the October 14 by-elections.
According to the 2018 IEBC figures, Kiagu Ward has a total of 14,175 registered voters.
While there were complaints of delayed voting in certain polling stations, the UDA Party has asserted that the exercise was conducted in a free and fair manner.
Meru senator Mithika Linturi earlier said that UDA is committed to a fair, free and transparent nomination process for it to have a candidate accepted by the people.
Flanked by Central Imenti MP Moses Kirima, the senator said there will e no favoritism in the nomination because UDA wanted to have a candidate who the Kiagu voters want.
The seat fell vacant following the death of Eunice Karegi, who succumbed to cancer in the month of May this year. Hon. Karegi clinched the seat in the 2017 polls on a Maendeleo Chap Chap party ticket. Karegi was one of the only two elected female MCAs in the Meru County Assembly.
Other parties participating in the by-election opted for direct nominations for their candidates.
The National Ordinary People’s Empowerment Union (Nopeu) associated with EALA MP Mpuru Aburi settled on Mwenda Nchamba to fly its flag in the by-election.
Introducing Nchamba at Kaguma, Mr Aburi said the party was going for a win.
“NOPEU is the most organised Party. We already have our candidate, and we are going for Kiagu for nothing but a sure win,” Mr Aburi said.
It is not yet clear whether the Restore and Build Kenya (RBK) which Governor Kiraitu said will represent the region’s interests in next year’s General Election, or Peter Munya’s PNU will field candidates in the Kiagu by-election.
Meru Daily News is your one-stop trusted source for the latest News updates from Meru County, Tharaka Nithi and the larger Mt. Kenya region. Follow our Social Media Pages for real-time News Bytes.
