The Independence Electoral and Boundaries Commission has declared Pavel Oimeke as the Bonchari Member of Parliament elect.
Oimeke who was accused of demanding a Ksh 200,000 bribe to re-open a petrol station garnered 8, 049 votes to emerge the winner.
“Oimeke Robert Obwoto of ODM has been declared the winner in the just concluded Bonchari Member of National Assembly by-election,” IEBC said in a tweet seen by Kivumbi.co.ke.
Zebedeo Opore of Jubilee party got 7,279 votes to take second position while UDA’s Teresa Bitutu took position three with 6,964 votes in a hotly contested mini-polls.
The win by former Energy Petroleum Regulatory Authority director makes it the first ever by-election for ODM to win since 2018.
Oimeke’s win came as a shocker in a tightly contested race as he had to wade through what he described as sweltering heat of intimidation and harassment of his supporters by security agents.
Oimeke resigned from Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) in March 2021.
This is after he was accused of demanding a Ksh 200,000 bribe to re-open a petrol station that had been shut by Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) over tax violations.
Earlier on, the Orange party had accused the state of a scheme to rig the election after Jubilee’s Candidate Zebedeo Opore held a meeting with security agencies.
ODM party leader Raila Odinga has lauded ODM grassroot leaders led by Kisii governor James Ongwae for their hard work during the campaign period to the announcement of the winner.
Raila in a tweet on Wednesday, May 19, said the win by ODM in Bonchari shows party’s influence in Nyanza region and particularly Kisii County.
“Congratulations to Bonchari MP elect Pavel Oimeke. The win in the just concluded by-election is a clear demonstration of the unwavering support and love for the ODM party,” Raila Odinga.
Jubilee party had requested ODM to withdraw their candidate Pavel Oimeke and back up Zebedeo Opore, the requests that Raila declined saying that Nyanza is ODM’s stronghold.
