Magarini By Elections, A Litmus Test for Broad Based Government
Founders of the Broad Based Government President William Ruto and Former ODM Leader Raila Odinga.(Photo/ Courtesy)
By The COAST Team
Email, thecoastnewspaper@gmail.com
The broad-based government (BBG) arrangement will get its first acid test during the Magarini parliamentary by-election where siblings from within will go at each others’ throat to clinch the seat occupied previously by ODM legislator Harrison Mwalimu Kombe.
With the incumbent having secured a direct party ticket to reclaim his seat, other disgruntled ODM aspirants for party primaries are rushing against time either to bag other parties’ tickets or square it out using independent tickets.
Already, the seat has attracted bigwigs from within and without to fight it out against the immediate former MP after his August 2022 win was nullified all the way to the Supreme Court of Kenya (SCOK) on allegations of ballot stuffing and manipulation of election results.
Contenders in the forefront to unseat the incumbent are Furaha Chengo Ngumba of the newly registered Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) of the impeached deputy president Rigathi Gachagua and Michael Kingi of Pamoja African Alliance (PAA) and brother to Senate Speaker Amason Jeffa Kingi.
Another cog of the BBG locking horns with ‘brothers’ in the Magarini tussle is Stanley Kenga who intends to run the course on a United Democratic Alliance (UDA) ticket.
In the 2022 general election, Kenga narrowly lost to the eventual winner ODM candidate Kombe by a whisker of only 21 votes! He garnered 11,925 against Kombe’s 11,946.
If this margin is anything to go by, then the indications are clear the battlefield is between siblings of the arrangement with DCP angling to capitalise on the spoils.
With vicious interests on the play, political pundits are of the view the Magarini by-election is putting political careers of Speaker Kingi and UDA secretary general and EALA legislator Hassan Omar on the line.
In the same breath, the mini-poll has open a window for the RiggyG’s party to stamp its authority in the Coast region believably assumed without tangible evidence to be ODM territory post-election violence of 2007-2008.
It will be interesting to see how ‘brothers’ of BBG will conduct their campaign programmes with eyes and ears locked on President William Samoei Ruto and ODM leader Raila Amolo Odinga.
Meanwhile Democratic National Alliance party has offered party tickets to young aspirants for the forthcoming by-elections in the country.
The party deputy leader (DL) Bright Shitemi urged the young aspirants to get in touch with the party.
He said that youth aspirants will be given tickets without any nomination fees.
“You will however be taken through an interview process.”
The party said it would issue tickets for the positions of one senate seat in Baringo County, six positions for members of parliament from Magarini, Kasipul, Banisa and Malava, Mbeere North and Ugunja constituencies.
The party further urged aspirants for 16 positions in the County assemblies as gazetted by the independent Electoral Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to apply.
The DL said the application requirement include a letter of interest addressed to the party secretary.
Aspirants will also be required to attach their updated curriculum vitae (CV), copies of national Identity (ID), voter’s card, clearance certificate and other documents.
A candidate should also include the name of the county, constituency or ward in the application, according to the party.
The party set September 5, 2025 as the last date for submitting the documents.
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