KERICHO: The newly formed Jubilee Party will hold its primaries for the Kericho senatorial by-election on Saturday.
The seat fell vacant after the county's immediate former senator, Charles Keter, was nominated to the Cabinet late last year by President Uhuru Kenyatta. He is the Energy and Petroleum Cabinet secretary.
Jubilee Party interim Secretary General Veronica Maina Wednesday said the party had approved a total of six candidates to contest for the party ticket, and to eventually fight it out with other candidates on March 7, when the by-elections are scheduled to be held.
"We shall conduct the party primaries on Saturday, January 16 at the gazetted Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) polling stations in the county. Votes cast at the stations shall be tallied at the sub-county headquarters," she said at a press briefing.
According to Ms Maina, the overall county tallying station for the party affiliated to both President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto will be at Kericho Teachers Training College.
"The polling station will be open as from 8am; the exercise comes to a close at 4pm. The county residents and other Kenyans should expect to know who will fly the party ticket before the end of the day," she said.
Former ODM Executive Director Magerer Langat and Elections Board Chairman Franklin Bett are among the six candidates cleared to vie for the Jubilee ticket.
"We have no preferred candidate, it is up to the county residents to decide through secret ballot who will be their senator," Maina told journalists at the party headquarters in Nairobi.
Other candidates who will fight out at the nominations include Nairobi Businessman Aaron Cheruiyot, former National Housing Corporation Chairman Sammy Chepkwony, Festus Kirui, a former political adviser to Kericho governor and Chemelil Sugar Company board member Joel Kirui.
Kericho is Deputy President William Ruto-led United Republican Party's (URP) political bedrock.
The immediate former senator is also a close ally of the deputy president.
The race for the party ticket is expected to be a tough one, as whoever clinches it will be seen to be as good as elected in the by-election, considering that Jubilee is the region's most popular party.
It is expected that the Jubilee coalition will launch a massive campaign in the county to ensure the new party gets its first elected leader in Parliament.
