IEBC yet to set new date for Kitutu Chache South poll

What you need to know:

  • Both polls were suspended by IEBC following the deaths of MP candidate Leonard Gwaro (Kitutu Chache South) and MCA contender Onsomu Okebiro (Bogichora).

  • Mr Gwaro died on July 8 in a road crash at Nyakoe area on the Kisii-Kisumu highway as he drove to a rally.

Residents of Kitutu Chache South Constituency in Kisii and Bogichora Ward in Nyamira will have to wait for a little bit longer before they elect their representatives.

The electoral commission says a new date for the polls will be set once the county and National Assembly speakers declare the seats vacant.

DEATHS

Both polls were suspended by IEBC following the deaths of MP candidate Leonard Gwaro (Kitutu Chache South) and MCA contender Onsomu Okebiro (Bogichora).

Mr Gwaro died on July 8 in a road crash at Nyakoe area on the Kisii-Kisumu highway as he drove to a rally.

Mr Okebiro, on the other hand, passed on at a Kisii hospital after a short illness.

IEBC Commission Spokesperson Andrew Limo on Wednesday evening told the Nation that no definite date had been set and urged residents to be patient.

“Right now, it is difficult to give a proper time frame upon which the election will be done because both House (National and County Assembly) speakers have not been picked,” he told the Nation by phone.

INCUMBENTS

Once declared vacant, said Mr Limo, they will move ahead and declare the dates for the polls.

IEBC has already advised the Jubilee Party to make replacements for the two races before the new election date is set.

In Kitutu Chache South, the incumbent MP Richard Onyonka (Ford-Kenya) will continue serving until the elections are held while in Bogichora, Mr Beuter Omanga will also continue being the area MCA.

In Kisii, consultations within Jubilee are still going on who between Mr Anthony Kibagendi and former Kisii Town Mayor Samuel Nyangeso will run for seat on the party’s ticket.