Odhiambo Orlale
26 April 2008
Nairobi — The battle for political supremacy among PNU, ODM and ODM-K will be put to the test once again on June 11 when they will face off in by-elections.
The polls are in the five vacant constituencies and 52 civic seats.
On Friday, the chairman of the Electoral Commission of Kenya, Mr Samuel Kivuitu, announced that five of the six constituencies which are vacant following the General Election last December would go back to the polls.
The parliamentary by-elections will be held in Nairobi's Embakasi constituency; Wajir North in Wajir District; Kilgoris in Trans-Mara District; Ainamoi in Kericho District and Emuhaya in Vihiga District.
Campaign tricky
The campaigns are likely to be tricky for the three leaders, whose parties are in the grand coalition Government and Cabinet.
The leaders kicked off their joint peace and reconciliation rallies across the Rift Valley Province two days ago. This comes a fortnight after members of the Cabinet were sworn-in at State House, Nairobi, in the presence of President Kibaki.
Two seats fell vacant after their holders were shot dead in separate incidents in Nairobi and Eldoret after they were sworn-in.
They were Mr Melitus Mugabe Were (Embakasi, ODM) and Mr David Kimutai Too (Ainamoi, ODM).
Three seats were nullified by the ECK chairman because of electoral irregularities. They were Kilgoris in Trans-Mara District, Wajir North in Wajir District, and Kamukunji in Nairobi. There was a tie in Wajir North constituency.
Pending case
But the Kamukunji seat is not among the five where the by-elections will be held because there is a pending case in court filed by a voter demanding that the results withheld by ECK be released and the winner named in public.
The other by-election will be in Emuhaya, in Vihiga District, which was necessitated by the election of Mr Kenneth Marende as the Speaker of the National Assembly, to replace Mr Francis ole Kaparo in one of the hotly contested elections in January.
Parliamentary rules bar a Speaker from doubling as an MP.
The by-elections come hot on the heels of the disputed presidential results and formation of a grand coalition Government. It is made up of President Kibaki's PNU; Prime Minister Raila Odinga's ODM; Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka's ODM-K and fringe parties that supported them.
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