President Uhuru Kenyatta's performance in the October 26 repeat presidential election has been described as dismall compared to the August 8 election despite having received a number of defectors from the Opposition.
At the Coast, Tourism Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala blamed the drastic drop on threats from the Opposition to carry out demos on election day.
The threat, he argues, intimidated voters who had otherwise planned to turn out to vote. Results indicated that President Kenyatta garnered 78,000 votes from the Opposition stronghold as compared to the 90,000 he attained during the August 8 election.
[caption caption="President Uhuru Kenyatta"]
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A second reason that has been floated is the poor weather conditions that were experienced in the Mt Kenya region counties which are Jubilee party strongholds.
Kirinyaga Central lawmaker Wambugu Munene blamed the rains, claiming that many voters had been hindered from travelling.
Coupled with the heavy downpour that was experienced in the regions, many voters who may have turned to vote shunned the process assured that President Kenyatta would still win given that National Super Alliance (NASA) presidential candidate Raila Odinga had withdrawn his candidature.
Third, wrangles witnessed between politicians and elders in some regions affected the vote for the Jubilee party presidential candidate.
In Mandera County, former Mandera East MP Abdulaziz Ali Farah who is affiliated with the Jubilee party blamed the council of elders and the Economic Freedom Party (EFP) officials for voter apathy.
"The elders and the EFP leadership was aggrieved in the August 8 elections and had an opportunity to prove that they can flex their muscles," the former MP accused.
[caption caption="File image of IEBC officials during voting"]
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Lastly, there was widespread voter apathy across the board as voters refused to turn out due to feelings of exhaustion with the prolonged political process.
"Meru voters had an average of 60% turnout. Various factors including the weather and apathy affected the anticipated numbers," Tigania West MP John Mutunga explained.
