Ochillo wins Migori seat, awaits announcement

ODM aspirant for Migori Senate seat Ochillo Ayacko has his finger marked after voting at St. Marks primary school in Awendo, Migori county on October 08,2018. The by election was occasioned by the death of former senator Ben Oluoch. [Photo: Sammy Omingo/ Standard])

ODM candidate Ochillo Ayacko has clinched the Migori County senate seat beating his closest rival Eddy Muok Oketch pending official declaration of the results by the electoral body.

Provisional results show him clinching 85,234 votes, with Oketch of Federal Party of Kenya coming in second with 60, 555 votes as other four contenders follow.

The results from all the 826 polling stations are said to be in and what remains is the official declaration of the results by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission.

Voter turn out was low in the county that has 388, 633 registered voters.

The primaries for the race were acrimonious with ODM putting its weight behind Ayacko  to the chagrin Governor Okoth Obado who supported Oketch.

Governor Obado has been charged with the murder of university student Sharon Otieno and remanded in Industrial Area  GK Prison in Nairobi. His successive applications for bail have not been granted. 

On Thursday the High Court will decide on the matter.

It is instructive that he didn't campaign for Oketch.

Initially viewed as a walk-over for Mr Ayacko after he got an automatic ticket for ODM, the fight for the seat became complicated after Mr Oketch, a runners up in last year’s elections, pulled a surprise campaign strategy that smoked ODM out of its comfort zone.

So tough has been the campaigns in the last few days that ODM leader Raila Odinga and a large team of MPs, governors and senators had to spend two days in the trenches to ward off the stiff competition from Oketch.

Read more at: https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/article/2001298158/acid-test-for-odm-in-migori-polls-as-ayacko-feels-heat-of-youthful-oketch