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Kenya: Grand Coalition Partners Dig in for By-Elections in Five Constituencies


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The Nation (Nairobi)

3 May 2008
Posted to the web 2 May 2008

Muchemi Wachira
Nairobi

Barely four months after Kenyans witnessed one of the most heated election campaigns since independence, another competition is fast approaching.

This time it will be by-elections in five constituencies.

And like what happened during the campaigns for the General Election last year, ODM and PNU protagonists are expected to lock horns as they go flat out to grab the five parliamentary seats.

They are currently preparing the process of nominating their candidates who are supposed to get the nod from the Electoral Commission of Kenya to enter the parliamentary race.

Every party is expected to have completed the nomination by May 27 while elections will be held on June 11.

It is after the ECK clears the candidates that the real battle will begin.

Both PNU and ODM recently entered into a grand coalition that marked the end of political crisis, which almost plunged the country into anarchy.

Election results

The post election violence was triggered by disputed presidential election results and politicians were blamed for having stoked the fire during their campaigns.

Fighting was reported in most parts of the country especially in towns.

During the skirmishes more than 1,200 people were killed while about 350,000 others were displaced from their homes.

Most of the displaced people are still in refugee camps. They cannot return to their farms, as the situation especially in the Rift Valley and parts of Western Kenya has remained volatile.

The country has just begun to heal after signing of the National Reconciliation and Peace Accord at the beginning of March. The accord saw President Kibaki and ODM leader Raila Odinga share power defusing the tension that had engulfed the country threatening to tear it apart.

Only two months since the tension started to subside, another election has come.

The Speaker of the National Assembly, Mr Kenneth Marende, has already declared the five seats vacant. They are Embakasi, Ainamoi, Kilgoris, Wajir North and Emuhaya constituencies. The Emuhaya seat fell vacant after Mr Marende, who had been elected on ODM ticket, was picked as Speaker.

Once an MP is elected as Speaker, the law requires that he or she immediately resigns from his parliamentary seat.

The Embakasi and Ainamoi seats in Nairobi and Kericho district respectively fell vacant following the deaths of Mr Melitus Mugabe Were and Mr David Kimutai arap Too. The two had been elected on ODM ticket. They were murdered in two separate incidents in January.

But in Kilgoris the ECK nullified results for the parliamentary elections over irregularities. They did the same for Nairobi's Kamukunji constituency. However ECK's decision to cancel Kamukunji results has been challenged in court.

In Wajir North constituency ECK ordered a repeat of the elections after two candidates tied.

Mr Ali Abdulahi Ibrahim of Kanu and Mr Mohammed Hussein Gabow of ODM garnered 3,675 votes each.

In such a case the two candidates are required to face of again in an election.

The battle for the five parliamentary seats is expected to be a matter of life and death for both ODM and PNU because they need numbers in the August House.

Currently ODM with 99 MPs is ahead of PNU or the so-called Government coalition (PNU/ODM Kenya coalition).

That is why the party triumphed during the elections of the speaker.

So ODM will use all tricks in their books to retain Embakasi, Ainamoi and Emuhaya seats.

Should they lose any of the three, it will be seen as a big political setback. And it will apparently affect the morale of their supporters.

Retaining Ainamoi and Emuhaya may not require much struggle for ODM. The two constituencies are in the Rift Valley and Western provinces strong holds.

Relevant Links

East Africa
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Nevertheless retaining Embakasi and Wajir North and to a lesser extent, Kilgoris will be tricky.

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