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The election for the National Assembly Speaker entered its second round on Thursday evening, September 8 after none of the two candidates, Moses Wetangula and Kenneth Marende, got an absolute majority.
Former Bungoma Senator Moses Wetangula won in the first round with 215 votes while Marende got 130 votes.
However, none of the two could be declared the clear winner by the Acting Clerk of the National Assembly Sarah Kioko because they fell short of the 233 two-thirds majority to bag victory in the first round of voting.
Wetangula had been fronted by Kenya Kwanza Coalition, headed by William Ruto while Marende had been endorsed by Azimio la Umoja-One Kenya Coalition, headed by Raila Odinga.
A total of 346 out of the maximum 349 MPs voted in the first round.
There was one rejected vote, while three MPs did not vote.
The Standard understands that one MP was ailing, another was yet to be sworn in while the whereabouts of the third remained unclear.
This is Wetangula's first stab at the National Assembly Speaker position. Marende, on the other hand, served as Speaker of the National Assembly between 2008 and 2013.
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