The ruling party Jubilee has insisted that it won the recently concluded Kiambaa parliamentary by-election that saw UDA candidate John Njuguna declared the winner.
In a statement issued on Monday, July 19, the ruling party Jubilee expressed dissatisfaction in the manner in which the IEBC conducted vote tallying and demanded a recount.
“We wish to categorically state that we are dissatisfied with how the IEBC managed the by-election, particularly the tallying process. We demand a recount of the vote and will in the coming days pursue this,” reads the statement in part.
The development comes following claims by a section of Jubilee politicians that the party’s leadership needs to be changed following successive by-election embarrassment.
The party’s Vice Chairman David Murathe as well Secretary General Raphael Tuju has particularly been the subject of these talks to overhaul the party’s leadership.
UDA candidate John Njuguna won the hotly contested Kiambaa by-election after garnering 21,773 votes while his closest rival, Kariri Njama of Jubilee, came in second with 21,263 votes.
The by-election was held on Thursday, July 15, following the demise of MP Paul Koinange who succumbed to Covid-19 related complications on March 31.
Just hours after the announcement of Njuguna as the MP-elect, Jubilee candidate Kariri Njama vowed to challenge his win in a court of law.
Speaking to supporters in Gachie on Friday, July 16, Njama who was accompanied by a section of Jubilee lawmakers said he will contest the outcome in court.
“We have refused the announcement of John Njuguna as the MP-elect for Kiambaa Constituency and our lawyer has started the process of suspending his swearing-in,
“We have all the evidence that the election was marred by irregularities and I will never get tired of fighting for your rights,” Kariri Njama said.
Jubilee party vice-chair David Murathe today echoed Njama’s sentiments saying that the ruling party Jubilee candidate won but was rigged out in favor of UDA candidate.
“We think we gave it our best shot and I think we actually won that is the message that you are getting from this group,” said Murathe.
On its part, the IEBC denied allegations that the by-election was rigged.
