Jubilee Party has announced McDonald Mariga as their main candidate for the crowded Kibra Member of Parliament by-elections set for November 7.
The former soccer star won his hard-earned ticket after scoring 500 out of 600 marks during an interview at the Party headquarters.
Sixteen candidates had expressed their interest in running in the forthcoming Kibra by-elections with the Jubilee party ticket but Mariga performed at his best to emerge the top candidate.
The National Elections Board chairman Andrew Musangi announced Mariga as the winner, describing him as an impeccable person who is close and understands the lives of Kibra residents.
The vetting exercise done at the Jubilee Party headquarters on Monday tested the candidates in several areas concerning the party.
The Board consisted of six members and who asked the sixteen candidates questions about the party policies, ability to finance campaigns, understanding of parliamentary work and candidates’ vision for Kibra constituency.
The National Election Board also tested the candidates’ alignment with the party’s manifesto and ability to deliver its mandate.
The scores were tallied out of 100 marks, where Mariga garnered 500 marks from the scores, beating his close rival by 129 marks.
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Hussein Ramadhan Abdi came in second scoring 371 marks while Peter Morris Kinyanjui was third with 367 marks.
The board members accorded the former footballer marks as follows: Musangi gave Mariga 80 marks, Aden Noor Ali gave him 92 marks, Leah Niyama (88 marks), Samuel Kobia (72 marks), Michael Waweru (75 marks) and Carolyne Kamende (93 marks).
The Kibra by-election is set for November 7, where Mariga will face off with candidates from Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), Amani National Congress, and Ford Kenya.
Apparently, only ANC and Jubilee have announced their candidates with Eliud Owalo flagging the ANC ticket.
ODM has not announced its candidate yet as nominations are set to be conducted on Saturday, September 7, after postponing the nominations over insecurity and to give room for census last weekend.
The Kibra seat has whetted the appetite for celebrities and football stars with the former Gor Mahia player Dennis Oliech also alleged to be drooling for the crowded seat.