Edith Nyenze, the wife of the late Kitui West Member of Parliament Francis Nyenze on Tuesday beat her main rival Kitili Maluki to secure the Wiper party ticket.
The Returning Officer Francis Kivindu announced that after tallying votes from 65 polling stations, Ms Nyenze got 13,388 votes against Maluki's 2,663.
The results were announced at Maendeleo Multipurpose Hall at Matinyani market on Tuesday night.
[caption caption="File image of Kitili Mwendwa addressing the media"]
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"Thirty-one percent of the 52,000 registered voters took part," Kivindu stated.
Following the win, Ms Nyenze will now contest against the other opponents from the different parties in the election proper.
[caption caption="File image of Edith Nyenze"]
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She stands high chances of being the next Kitui West Legislator as Wiper Party is dominant in the region and whoever wins its ticket is considered halfway into parliament.
Meanwhile, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) earlier this month announced that the by-election for the constituency would be held on March 26, 2018.
Through a gazette notice, the electoral body disclosed that it was gearing up to hold the by-election to replace Nyenze who died in December.
"Following the declaration of Vacancy in the office of the Member of National Assembly for Kitui West Constituency via a letter from the Speaker and Gazette Notice No. 12711 Vol. CXIX- No. 193 dated 27th December 2017.
