President William Ruto's United Democratic Alliance (UDA) has emerged victorious in the just-concluded November 27 by-elections, sweeping multiple parliamentary and county assembly seats across the country.
UDA candidates in the hotly contested constituencies of Mbeere North and Malava emerged as winners, even as the opposition raised concerns of rigging, bribery, and intimidation.
Parliamentary seats
In Mbeere North, UDA's Leonard Wa Muthende was declared the winner of the parliamentary seat, securing 15,802 votes, and defeating the opposition's Newton Karish by 500 votes.
In Malava, after a gruelling campaign, David Ndakwa of the UDA party won the parliamentary by-election seat after garnering 21,564 votes. His closest opponent, Seth Panyako of DAP-K, came second with 20,210 votes, followed by Wilberforce Tuvei of Kenya Moja Movement Party, who came third with 626 votes.
County Assembly seats
UDA's dominance extended to county assembly ward races across multiple regions.
In Lake Zone Ward, Turkana North, John Namesek of UDA was officially declared the winner with 3,559 votes. His closest challenger, John Meyan of the United Democratic Movement (UDM), garnered 1,712 votes, while Stephen Ekiru Obero received 1,082 votes. In total, 6,307 valid votes were cast out of 10,896 registered voters, reflecting a moderate turnout.
Vincent Kiplimo Ruto was declared MCA-elect for Chemundu-Kapng'etuny ward in Nandi County, securing 2,999 votes for UDA. He defeated Shaffle Letting of KANU, who received 473 votes, Robert Kirwa of The New Democratic Party, with 225 votes, and David Too of The Equitable Party, with 156 votes.
In Angata Nanyekie ward in Narok, Isabella Leshimpiro of UDA won with 1,235 votes (38.73%), ahead of Pauline Naseiku Lengupae of NAPK with 1,000 votes (31.38%) and Letoluai Loisia of ODM with 954 votes (28.92%).
UDA also won the seat in Chesumei ward in Nandi County. Additionally, UDA candidates were declared elected unopposed in two wards in the Rift Valley region prior to the main polling day.
Broad-based government performance
In a political contest treated as a miniature referendum, Ruto's UDA fronted its candidates against the united opposition.
For figures in President William Ruto's UDA and its broad-based partner ODM, the races became the perfect stage for political bigwigs to prove their worth to their party leaders.
It was a boost for UDA as its broad-based partner ODM won in the Kasipul and Ugunja parliamentary by-elections, respectively.
The 27-year-old Boyd Were won in Kasipul with 16,819 votes, defeating businessman Philip Aroko, who received 8,476 votes.
In Ugunja, Moses Omondi was declared the winner after garnering 9,237 votes.
As results started streaming in on Thursday evening, both camps took to social media to celebrate.
Violence and electoral concerns
However, the electoral process was marred by serious incidents that cast a shadow over the victories. From the outset, the process descended into chaos, characterised by campaign clashes, bloodshed, and destruction of property, transforming what should have been a simple vote into one of the most violent by-elections in recent memory.
Many were injured, businesses looted, and communities left in shock. The pressure to put up a solid performance overwhelmed even the most grounded politicians, with both sides accused of stoking tensions.
With slightly more than a year to the General Election, these events have exposed the fragility of the country's electoral process and raised serious questions about the capacity of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to manage competitive elections.
Even with Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen and the National Police Service (NPS) committing to ensuring a peaceful voting exercise, violence still erupted in several constituencies.
Political parties, which are supposed to lead by example and enforce the Electoral Code of Conduct, instead abandoned all restraint, with their supporters provoking rival strongholds and stoking tensions throughout the campaign period.
The opposition has called for investigations into alleged irregularities, though specific details of their complaints have yet to be formally documented by electoral authorities.