Natembeya trounces Wamalwa in Trans Nzoia governor's contest
George Natembeya of DAP-K was declared winner after defeating his closest rival Chris Wamalwa of Ford Kenya.
Former government administrator George Natembeya (DAP-K) has delivered the Trans Nzoia governor's seat to Azimio la Umoja One Kenya after trouncing Kenya Kwanza's point man Chris Wamalwa (Ford Kenya) by a wide margin.
The former Rift Valley regional commissioner bagged 158,919 votes against Mr Wamalwa's 79,020.
This ends a fierce battle between Azimio and Kenya Kwanza for the Trans Nzoia seat, after the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) completed vote tallying and declared the results in four elective seats on Friday morning.
Mr Wamalwa, the outgoing Kiminini MP, conceded defeat and congratulated Mr Natembeya hours before the results were officially declared by the county returning officer.
In a tweet, Mr Wamalwa acknowledged that he had lost the race.
"The elections are now over and the results are out. I have not been successful in my quest to be the second Governor of our great county," he wrote on Twitter.
Trans Nzoia had 398,981 registered voters and only 249,220 cast their ballots. Some 3,594 were rejected.
County IEBC Election Manager John Cox Lorionokou put voter turnout in the county at 62.46 percent.
Wycliffe Shubwe Eshiwani came in third in the governor’s race with 3,044 votes.
In Saboti constituency, Mr Natembeya garnered 33,826 votes against Mr Wamalwa’s 16, 667.
In Kiminini, he received 39,378 votes against Mr Wamalwa's 14,414.
In Endebess, he garnered 17,233 votes, while Mr Wamalwa received 13,350.
Speaking after receiving his certificate, Mr Natembeya promised Trans Nzoia residents that he would deliver his development promises.
He thanked his campaign team, family and residents for their support.
He also thanked his running mate, Philomenah Bineah Kapkory, while asking Mr Wamalwa to join him in transforming Trans Nzoia.
"This victory belongs to Trans Nzoia residents. Therefore, it will be a great honour as leaders to shelve our competitive aspects and focus to bring change," he stated.
In the Senate race, which attracted 12 candidates, Allan Chesang (UDA) won with 123,793 votes, followed by former county assembly Speaker Joshua Werunga (DAP-K), who received 56,779.
The woman representative seat, which had nine candidates, was bagged by Lilian Siyoi with 102,488 votes. Phanice Khatundi (DAP-K) came in second with 65,641 votes.
