Kiambaa residents have today taken to the polls to elect their new Member of Parliament in a hotly contested race that has been branded as a supremacy contest between President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto.
While there are several candidates in the race, Jubilee’s Kariri Njama and John Wanjiku Njuguna are the frontrunners.
Earlier today, Kariri Njama cast his vote at Gachie Primary school and exuded confidence that he would emerge victorious.
Speaking after casting his vote, Njama noted that a win for Jubilee would mean that the party still enjoys support in the Central Kenya region.
“We are confident that this is our win. We have done that with a lot of prayers, talking to our people and the support of our President and Jubilee party.
Read More
“We are going to take this as an opportunity to ensure that Jubilee remains the party of the people of Kenya,” Njama said.
On his part, Wanjiku noted that he was happy with the process but decried the presence of chiefs at polling stations, arguing that they were intimidating and influencing voters to vote in a particular way.
UDA's John Wanjiku Njuguna casting his ballot. [Photo: Courtesy]
“There have been a few incidents here and there whereby people like chiefs and MPs have been used by our opponents to influence the exercise. I want to ask the people of Kiambaa not to be influenced in any way.
Generally, the voting exercise so far has been smooth save for the low turnout witnessed across polling stations in the county.
Earlier, there was an incident at one of the polling stations after a group of youth protested the presence of National Assembly Majority Leader Amos Kimunya at a polling station. The youth demanded that he leaves, but Kimunya stood his ground.
The polling stations are expected to close at 6:00pm after which tallying of the votes will commence.
