Ol Kalou by-election: Residents brave chilly morning as voting begins

Residents of Ol Kalou Constituency braved chilly weather Thursday morning as they turned up to vote in the parliamentary by-election.

Voters started arriving at polling centres as early as 5:00AM, with queues forming at several stations.

At Huruma Primary School, where UDA candidate Samuel Muchina Nyagah is expected to cast his vote, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) established four voting streams to ease congestion and facilitate a smooth voting process.

Meanwhile, voters also lined up outside AC Primary School, where Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) candidate Sammy Kamau Ngotho is expected to vote later in the day.

The parliamentary by-election is being held to fill the seat left vacant following the death of former area MP Njuguna Kiaraho.

Voting is expected to end at 6:00PM although IEBC has assured residents that all voters who will be in the queue by the stipulated time will be allowed to cast their ballots.

Ol Kalou has a total of 73,480 registered voters spread across five wards.

Key contenders in the race include Samuel Muchina Nyagah (UDA), Sammy Kamau Ngotho (DCP) and Engineer Wilson Kigwa (Jubilee).

Others are Timothy Kamau of the People’s Renaissance Movement, Edwin Muchiri of PNU, Stephen Wanyoike of the National Liberal Party, Rachael Njoroge, Edward Mwaniki of the Kenya Moja Movement and Abdifatah Hussein of the Federal Party of Kenya.