Chris Bichage moves out of Kisii High court with his supporters after court annulled his win. The case was lodged by Wiper poll loser Mr Richard Tongi before justice Edward Muriithi. Photo/FILE
The unity of the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (Cord) will be put to the test in one of the upcoming by-elections in Kisii County.
Even though the party is fighting to retain its seats in six regions across the country, it is the Nyaribari Chache constituency seat that is likely to give the party the biggest headache.
What makes this an interesting race to watch is the fact that Mr Chris Bichage (ODM), who had been declared MP in March, lost his seat through a petition by a member of the Cord family, Mr Richard Tongi (Wiper).
Mr Bichage was declared winner of the March 4 election with 11,638 votes against Mr Tongi’s 10,774.
Dr Robert Monda of Jubilee came third.
A picture emerges in which Dr Monda might have the upper hand if the two coalition partners do not agree on a single candidate to face the Jubilee candidate.
If they fail to agree and decide to sponsor both candidates, it will be interesting to see how Cord leaders Raila Odinga (ODM) and Kalonzo Musyoka (Wiper) handle the situation especially during campaigns.
Will they campaign together or each for his party candidate?
Mr Bichage, who has sought the seat for the last 20 years, had only served as MP for seven months. He is confident of winning back the seat.
“I am not shaken by the court ruling; I believe that my supporters will vote me in again, and even with more votes than last time,” he said.
In his petition, Mr Tongi had cited favouritism by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission staff, errors in figures and “ghost” voters taking part in the poll.
However, the judge singled out irregularities committed at St Theresa, Bobaracho, Kiogoro and Gusii County Council polling centres.
Mr Justice Edward Muriithi said that scrutiny of the results at 12 polling stations showed that at Gusii County Council, the authentication of 458 votes cast in that station could not be done due to the absence of counterfoils.
CAN'T TELL
“The court could not ascertain the source of the votes, whether they were truly cast or stuffed due to absence of vital documents,” Mr Muriithi said.
TNA’s Joel Onyancha of Bomachoge Borabu also lost his seat. This is the second time the MP is being kicked out of Parliament through a petition.
He suffered a similar fate in the last Parliament which saw him defeated by Mr Simon Ogari.
The IEBC has scheduled the two by-elections for December 19.
The by-elections may present a different political scenario from that of the General Election with the absence of a presidential election which seems to influence voter decisions on other candidates. Some voters may also have changed political party affiliations since March.
In the General Election, ODM captured seven of the 10 parliamentary seats in Kisii County with its candidates capturing all the county seats through a shared formula between the six houses making up the county.
Mr Onyancha, who was absent during the court ruling, told his supporters at Gusii stadium that he will not tire to defend his seat.
“I was validly elected as the MP. However my election has been overturned by the courts because of IEBC’s mistakes in one station,” said Mr Onyancha.
He exuded confidence that he would bounce back and retain his seat, adding that the decision remains with the electorate.
“I have suffered twice through the mistakes of electoral bodies; in 2007 it was ECK and this time it is IEBC. For how long will I carry the electoral body’s cross?” he asked.
Other by-elections that will be keenly watched in the region include the contest for the Bungoma Senate seat which Minority Leader Moses Wetang’ula lost in a petition by his rival Musikari Kombo.
The Cord coalition is also keen to recapture the Siaya governor’s seat which the Cord candidate Cornel Rasanga lost in a petition by rival David Oduol.
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