Jubilee not fielding candidate for Msambweni by-election

Jubilee Party is not fielding a candidate for the Msambweni by-election, its Secretary Genereal Raphael Tuju has announced.

 “With the unprecedented corporation between jubilee and ODM in the parliament in the recent past on matter of national importance and given that is was an ODM seat, the decision has been made that Jubilee will not field a candidate in the interest of the bigger picture,” read a statement from the ruling party and signed by Mr Tuju.

Barely an hour after Mr Tuju made the announcement, Deputy President William Ruto drove to the party’s Ngara headquarters for a meeting with Mr Tuju which was still on by the time this story was posted.

The decision comes two days after Chief Justice David Maraga’s advisory to the president to dissolve parliament, which Mr Tuju cited in the statement.

“The decision not to engage in the contest is informed by the facts prevailing at the moment when we face challenges like the recent advisory by the Chief Justice,” read the statement,

It also added that, “The country has very serious constitutional matters to deal with that will require sobriety and reaching across the political divides in order to navigate our beloved country across some of these challenges.”

The IEBC has set December 15 as the election date after the initially intended June by-election that was halted with the unprecedented effects of Covid-19.

The Msambweni seat was left vacant after the death of area MP Suleiman Dori.