Large turnout in Pokot South, Kacheliba despite suspension of MP polls
Long queues at Chepareria Primary School polling station in Pokot South Constituency, West Pokot County on August 9, 2022
A large turnout of voters was witnessed in Pokot South and Kacheliba constituencies in West Pokot County even though elections for the two parliamentary seats were suspended.
A mix-up of names and photos was reported in the two constituencies, forcing the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission to suspend voting in the areas and two others with similar anomalies.
Voters told the Nation that they would have to bear with the situation.
"We were disappointed and we can’t do anything but adhere to the directive of the IEBC," said Winnie Cheptoo, a voter at the Chepareria Primary School polling station in Pokot South.
There was confusion as voters tried to locate their polling stations, said Peter Atongoreng, a voter at the Chepareria Primary station.
"I moved from one room to another trying to locate my name on the list,” he said.
A large voter turnout was generally witnessed in West Pokot, with voters trickling to polling stations as early as 5am.
The Nation established that the manual register was being used along with Kiems kits to identify voters.
The governor's seat has attracted three candidates, including the incumbent John Lonyangapuo, who is defending his seat on a Kenya Union Party (KUP) ticket.
The other two contenders are former governor Simon Kachapin of the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) and Deputy Governor Nicholas Atudonyang.
The Senate seat has four candidates: Senate Majority Leader Samuel Poghisio (Kanu), who is defending his seat against former Kapenguria MP Julius Murgor (UDA), Dennis Kapchok, aka Mulmulwaas and Geoffrey Lipale (KUP).
Security has been beefed up in all four sub-counties, with security chiefs promising peaceful voting.
