Former Bungoma Governor Ken Lusaka has been elected Senate Speaker after securing 42 out of 67 votes.
Former Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Farah Maalim came in second after getting 25 votes.
Lusaka needed two rounds to be elected Speaker after getting 40 votes in the first round while Maalim garnered 23 votes.
According to the house rules, one needs at least 45 votes to be declared winner.
He was sworn-in shortly after the voting process and thanked Senators for electing him as their speaker.
The new Senate speaker promised to work with all members and recognised his predecessors for a job well done.
Before the voting, a section of National Super Alliance (NASA) leaders had raised integrity queries on Lusaka's candidature for Senate speaker and questioned his use of public funds during his tenure as Bungoma governor.
On Wednesday, Jubilee Party reached an agreement on its line-up for the top seats in the National Assembly and Senate.
Following a Jubilee Parliamentary Group meeting held at State House, Nairobi, the President Uhuru Kenyatta—led party agreed to front Justin Muturi and former Bungoma Governor Ken Lusaka for the National Assembly and Senate speaker seats respectively.
Ekwee Ethuro, who was the Senate Speaker, was ditched by Jubilee Party but still vied for the seat on Thursday.
The nomination of Lusaka to replace Ethuro is seen as a reward for his bold and risky political move to ditch the Opposition for the Jubilee Party.
The former Bungoma Governor lost in the recent elections after vying on a Jubilee ticket despite his area being an Opposition turf.
