Candidates raring to go as campaigns start tomorrow

By ROBERT NYASATO and ROBERT WANYONYI

The campaigns for Bomachoge Borabu parliamentary seat officially kick off tomorrow.

Seven candidates cleared by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) will contest for the seat.

The candidates have been secretly mobilising their supporters ahead of the by-election to be held on December 19.

Candidates cleared by IEBC include Albert Nyaundi of Ford People, former MP Joel Onyancha (TNA) and Peter Kimori of ODM. Others are Josiah Maaga of UDF, Nickson Mosingi (Narc Kenya), Christopher Siambe (KNC) and Mbeche Bosire of PPK.

Interviews by The Standard revealed that most candidates plan to conduct door-to-door campaigns.

IEBC commissioner Abdulahi Sharawe has urged the candidates to observe the electoral code of conduct.

Bobasi MP Stephen Manoti will spearhead campaigns for Ford People’s candidate while his Kitutu Masaba counterpart Timothy Bosire will oversee ODM affairs.

However, ODM suffered a blow after South Mugirango MP Manson Oyongo, who is the party’s pointman in Kisii County, backed Nyaundi’s candidature.

And reacting to reports that a group of ODM youth had ditched the party candidate, Margareta Atinga, a campaigner for Kimori, said the party had structures spread across the constituency where those who are disgruntled should channel their grievances.

The Bomachoge Borabu seat fell vacant after an election court in Kisii annulled Onyacha’s March 4 win on grounds that he was a beneficiary of a flawed electoral process.

Nyaundi and Kimori had jointly filed the petition.

Meanwhile, ODM has refuted claims that some of its officials in Bungoma County have decamped to rival parties ahead of the senatorial by-elections slated for next month.

 In a statement, ODM said no official of the party in any of the nine branches in Bungoma County had ditched the party.

 “ODM being a senior partner of the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy is fully behind Mr Moses Wetang’ula of Ford Kenya which is a partner in the coalition,” said Communications Secretary Philip Etale.

And Wetang’ula called on the electoral body to firmly deal with candidates engaging in hate speech and propaganda.

He appealed to voters to disqualify such candidates on the day of the by-election, December 19.

Wetang’ula was addressing supporters who had lined up to receive his entourage in Mt Elgon during campaigns.