Cyprian Awiti Loses His Seat as Homa Bay Governor

The High Court has nullified the election of Homa Bay Governor Cyprian Awiti and ordered for fresh elections.

According to the presiding judge Justice Joseph Karanja, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) did not conduct a free and fair election according to the law.

He added that the petitioner had provided enough evidence for the nullification of the Homa Bay governor’s election.

The petition was filed by former Kasipul MP Oyugi Magwanga, who had cited irregularities in the August 8 elections for the governor’s seat.

Awiti garnered 210,173 votes against Magwanga’s 189,060. Magwanga was running as an independent after failing to clinch the ODM nomination in a bruising battle that split the county into roughly two equally strong support bases.

According to the IEBC’s results which have been nullified by the court, Mr. Awiti got 44,802 votes against Mr. Magwanga’s 24,009 in Karachuonyo, while in Kasipul, Mr. Awiti got 29,236 against Mr. Magwanga’s 18,181 votes.

The Homa Bay Election Court had ordered the scrutiny and recount of votes in 400 polling centers across the county in December 2017.

Awiti becomes the second governor to lose his after Wajir’s Ahmed Mohammed Abdi Mahamud, whose election was nullified following a successful petition on January 12.