The 2022 General Election, one of the most closely contested polls in the country, was shaped by various factors including voter apathy, the comeback of veterans who stayed in the cold for years and ousting of notables expected to retain their seats.
Also standing out in the polls were the contests won with the smallest of margins. The threshold for bagging elective seats in Kenya is winning by a simple majority.
This has been manifested in the concluded elections where some candidates were declared winners and others conceded early despite their opponents leading by minimal margins.
Cecily Mbarire- Embu Gubernatorial race
Embu governor-elect Cecily Mbarire was declared the winner in the county gubernatorial race on Friday, August 12. However, Mbarire had faced stiff opposition from former Embu Senator Lenny Kivuti.
The contest was decided by a margin of 3,364 votes. Mbarire who contested the seat on United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party received 108,610 while Lenny Kivuti got 105, 246 votes.
Joseph Ole Lenku- Kajiado Gubernatorial race
The Kajiado gubernatorial race had attracted bigwigs in the Maa county politics. Among the top contenders in the race were incumbent Governor Joseph Ole Lenku, former Governor David Nkedianye, and Kajiado South Member of Parliament Katoo Ole Metito.
Governor Lenku who ran on an ODM ticket defended his seat after being declared the winner with 117,600 votes while Ole Metito of UDA garnered 111,725 votes.
Coalitions politics played a factor in the contest, with ODM and Jubilee (both in the Azimio Coalition) fielding candidates against Kenya Kwanza’s solitary candidate Ole Metito.
The gap separating the winner and the first runners-up was 5,875 votes.
Felix Odiwuor- Lang’ata MP
In the Lang’ata parliamentary seat, the race pitted Phelix Odiwuor of ODM against Nixon Korir of UDA.
Odiwuor alias Jalang’o was declared the winner in his debut election.
According to the results announced by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), Odiwuor garnered 38,948 votes while Korir received 36,836 votes, a difference of 2,112 votes.
The outgoing MP conceded the defeat and congratulated his rival despite losing by a whisker.
Dhadho Godhana - Tana River Governor
In Tana River county, the margin between the winner and his closest competitor was just 259 votes according to official results from the IEBC.
The race pitted the incumbent governor Dhadho Godhana against his predecessor, Hussein Dado, both who were front runners in the race.
Godhana - who ran on an ODM ticket - got 26,892 votes while former Dado of UDA got 26,633 votes.
Ronald Karauri- Kasarani Parlimentary seat
The contest for the Kasarani Parliamentary seat was also among the races that were decided by thin margins.
Independent candidate Ronald Karauri was declared the winner after receiving 32,406 votes. His closest competitor John Njoroge of UDA was second with 30,444 votes, thus the gap between the two candidates was 1,962 votes.
