CCM party bags Chepalungu MP seat for second consecutive term
Chepalungu MP-elect Mr Victor Koech alias mandazi (left) with Chama Cha Mashinani (CCM) party leader Isaac Ruto (right) at a rally organized by the party on August 6, 2022 at Bomet Green stadium.
The Chama Cha Mashinani (CCM) has won the Chepalungu parliamentary seat in Bomet County for the second term running.
In results that reflected the 2017 elections, the constituency is the only one whose voters defied euphoria associated with a new popular party and stuck with a candidate from a minority political outfit.
Mr Victor Koech, alias Mandazi, garnered 45,966 votes to beat former area MP Paul Savimbi Bii, who was seeking to recapture the seat under the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) and received 15,819.
Mr Peter Bunei of the Amani National Congress (ANC) received 1,261 votes, while Mr Evans Cheruiyot (Democratic Congress Party) had 620, Mr Paul Langat (National Vision Party) bagged 213 votes, Mr Michael Ngeno (Orange Democratic Movement) had 200 and Mr Ronald Kiprono of Kanu secured 182.
Incumbent MP Gideon Koskei (CCM) ousted Mr Bii, who was defending the seat under Jubilee in the 2017 elections.
In the CCM primaries ahead of those elections, Mr Koskei defeated Mr Koech, who in this year’s nominations pulled the rug from under the feet of the MP.
The youthful MP-elect is a graduate in electrical engineering from Moi University and worked for four years in the Trade department of the Bomet County government before resigning to make a stab at the Chepalungu parliamentary seat.
“I am grateful for the support the residents of Chepalungu constituency have given me in this General Election and I promise that I will not disappoint them,” Mr Koech told the Nation.
The businessman called on his competitors to back him in pushing for increased allocations of resources from the national and county governments to the constituency.
Outgoing Chepalungu MP Gideon Koskei (left) and MP-elect Victor Koech alia mandazi - both of the Chama Cha Mashinani (CCM) party - during a rally at Bome green stadium on August 6, 2022
“The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has conducted a free and fair poll compared with previous general elections in Kenya. I will not disappoint the voters in Chepalungu constituency who have rallied behind my candidature in this election,” Mr Koech said.
The back-to-back election of a CCM legislator in the area, he said, demonstrated the confidence residents have in the party.
“I will work with all leaders and stakeholders to drive the development agenda for Chepalungu constituency. This is a time that we do not have the luxury to engage in witch-hunts, backstabbing and division. There is strength in unity of purpose,” he said.
He pledged to complete the projects initiated by his predecessor to the benefit of the people in the semi-arid constituency, noting that infrastructure, expanding of existing learning institutions, rolling out water supply systems, and rooting for value addition for fresh farm produce will be his main development pillars.
His bid was boosted when the outgoing MP agreed to back him for the seat, tilting the scales against his opponents.
“I conceded defeat and agreed in principle to back Mr Koech as the next MP for Chepalungu. I am still his MP, but we shall swap the roles in a few days’ time when he is sworn in. This to us is a relay and it is time for me to pass the baton as decided by the voters,” Mr Koskei said in an interview.
CCM party leader Isaac Kiprono Ruto and former Cabinet minister John Kipsang Koech are former MPs of the constituency.
Mr Bii is also a farmer in Nakuru and Bomet counties. He rose from policeman to primary school teacher and Knut Bomet branch executive secretary. He took over from Wilson Sossion, who moved to the headquarters as vice-chairman and eventually secretary-general.
Mr Bii was elected Chepalungu MP in 2013 but lost to Mr Koskei in 2017, leading to his appointment by the late Bomet governor, Dr Joyce Laboso, as a political adviser, a position he retained when Prof Hillary Barchok took over as county chief in 2019.
Mr Bii had a short stint as the Lake Victoria South Water Works Development Agency chairman before he was controversially removed from office.
The second loss in a row for Mr Bii, it is an almost fatal blow to his political career in an area that has seen youthful professionals taking over leadership positions in the constituency.
