THE STANDARD By
Brian Kisanji |
March 4th 2021 at 08:44:31 GMT +0300
An elderly woman casts her vote at Matungu Constituency. [Dennish Ochieng, Standard]
Voting in the Matungu parliamentary by-election kicked off smoothly this morning amidst low voter turnout.
Voters who turned out early morning said the exercise was smooth, applauding the punctuality of the entire process.
Strict health guidelines were also adhered to as no one was allowed in without a mask.
Some of the voters, however, faced some challenges during the identification process as their fingerprints could not be detected by the Integrated Election Management System (KIEMS).
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There are 15 candidates in the race seeking to replace the late Justus Murunga who died in 2020.
THE STANDARD By
Standard Team |
March 4th 2021 at 00:00:00 GMT +0300
An IEBC official moves ballot boxes into Bulimbo Primary School, which will be used as a polling centre in today’s by-elections. [Mumo Munuve and Benjamin Sakwa, Standard]
Residents of Matungu and Kabuchai constituencies go to the polls to elect new MPs this morning amid claims of a plot to rig the election.
Yesterday, ANC leader Musalia Mudavadi claimed some Independent and Electoral Boundaries Commission (IEBC) officials met ODM leaders to strategise on how to influence the outcome of the by-election in Matungu.
On Tuesday, Kakamega Senator Cleophas Malala made similar claims.
Currently, the constituency has at least 62,386 registered voters who are expected to cast their ballots on March 4.
The constituency has five wards namely Namamali, Koyonzo, Mayoni, Kholera and Khalaba with a total of 116 polling stations will be used in all five wards.
Dr Joseph Amukoya became the first MP for Matungu after he won the 1997 parliamentary elections on a Kanu ticket.
But in 2002, Dr Amukoya lost to David Were who rode in National Rainbow Coalition (Narc) wave.
Were successfully defended the seat in 2007 and 2013 on two different party tickets.
He vied on the ODM ticket in 2007 and managed to secure the seat in 2013 as a Ford Kenya candidate.