Voting kicks off in Matungu

An elderly woman casts her vote at Matungu Constituency. [Dennish Ochieng, Standard]

Voting in the Matungu parliamentary by-election kicked off smoothly this morning amidst low voter turnout.

Voters who turned out early morning said the exercise was smooth, applauding the punctuality of the entire process.

Strict health guidelines were also adhered to as no one was allowed in without a mask.

Some of the voters, however, faced some challenges during the identification process as their fingerprints could not be detected by the Integrated Election Management System (KIEMS).

There are 15 candidates in the race seeking to replace the late Justus Murunga who died in 2020.

Some of the candidates include ANC's Peter Nabulindo, UDA’s Alex Lanya and ODM’s David Were.

Others are Charles Kasamani, Paul Achayo (Movement for Democracy and Growth (MDG) and Faida Auma (Maendeleo Chap Chap).

UDA’s Alex Lanya casts his vote in Matungu Constituency. [Denish Ochieng, Standard]

Security was beefed up in all the 116 polling stations and over 600 IEBC officials have been deployed in various parts of the constituency.

The constituency has five wards; Namamali, Koyonzo, Mayoni, Kholera and Khalaba.

Today’s by-election puts to test the political might of ANC Musalia Mudavadi, ODM leader Raila Odinga and Deputy President William Ruto who is associated with the UDA party.

Were (ODM) and Bernard Wakoli (Independent) are both expected to vote at Lubanga Primary School while Nabulindo (ANC) is expected to vote at Namalasire Primary School.

ODM candidate for Matungu constituency by-election David Were casts his vote at Lubanga primary school. [Denish Ochieng, Standard]

UDA candidate Lanya will vote at Bulonga Primary School.