Advertisement
By-election: IEBC disqualifies 4 aspirants in Malava and Kisa East
10th October, 2025 02:20 PM
Caption:IEBC disqualifies four aspirants in Malava and Kisa West ward.VIDEO/K24TV The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has disqualified four political aspirants in Malava Constituency and Kisa East Ward ahead of the by-election.
The exercise was concluded on Thursday, October 9, 2025.
Two Malava parliamentary aspirants and two candidates vying for Member of County Assembly (MCA) positions in Kisa East were not cleared to contest in the upcoming November 27, 2025, polls.
Kakamega County Elections Manager Joseph Ayatta confirmed that Caleb Sunguti, a parliamentary hopeful running on the Roots Party ticket, voluntarily withdrew from the race.
Elsewhere, President William Ruto’s close aide, Farouk Kibet, stormed Malava Constituency to drum up support for the UDA candidate ahead of the upcoming by-election.
His fiery address energised supporters, urging them to back the ruling party’s agenda and secure victory for UDA.
Meanwhile, Samuel Shitanda, who had sought to contest on a Republican Liberty Party ticket, was disqualified after IEBC records revealed he was not a registered member of the party. Instead, the system listed him under the Peace and Development Party, leading to his exclusion.
Out of 11 aspirants who had submitted their papers for the Malava parliamentary seat, nine have been cleared to proceed to the ballot.
In Kisa East Ward, 13 MCA aspirants presented their credentials for vetting. Eleven successfully met the requirements, while two failed to appear for the verification process and were consequently disqualified.
The Kakamega County Elections Office has announced that it will convene a meeting with all cleared candidates to discuss campaign harmonization and the roadmap ahead of the mini-polls.
Questions over polls
A candidate for the Malava parliamentary by-election, Wilberforce Tuvei, has questioned the unusually long campaign period announced by the IEBC.
Tuvei, who is vying for the seat left vacant following the death of Malulu Injendi, said the 51-day period was suspicious and could be designed to drain candidates financially and mentally.
“Could it be that the government, through the electoral commission, is planning to wear out candidates before the ballot?” Tuvei posed.
According to the IEBC timetable, the official campaign period began on October 8, 2025, and will run until midnight on November 24, 2025.
Tuvei made the remarks while addressing supporters at his residence in Mting’ong’o village, Chimuche, on Wednesday, October 8, 2025.
Also watch: Malava Residents Urge IEBC to Act Against Electoral Law Violators.
He added that the 24 upcoming by-elections were a litmus test for the IEBC, saying the commission’s conduct will determine whether Kenyans retain or lose confidence in its operations.
Separately, the Roots Party of Kenya has revoked the nomination certificate issued to Caleb Sunguti, citing a violation of party principles.
In a letter dated October 8, 2025, and signed by the party’s secretary general, Cecil Miller, the party accused Sunguti of breaching the party constitution.
“In view of this and in accordance with Article 27 of the party constitution, the party has resolved to revoke his nomination certificate with immediate effect,” Miller stated.
However, Sunguti dismissed the claims, saying he had voluntarily withdrawn from the race due to a lack of party support.
“I did not see the capital I was going to make after the party failed to associate with me as their candidate. When you ask for support, even just T-shirts, you are told they didn’t plan for it,” Sunguti said.
He added that his Abatobo clan had also persuaded him to drop his bid to avoid splitting votes meant for DAP-K candidate Seth Panyako, who hails from the same clan.
