Murang'a Governor Mwangi Wa Iria will defend his seat on a Jubilee ticket as the High Court has upheld his win in the primaries.
Justice Hedwig Ong'udi on Wednesday set aside the ruling by the Political Parties Tribunal that nullified Wa Iria's nomination.
Ong'udi said the party list used was not up to date and that
the Governor was properly nominated.
In a ruling last Friday, the tribunal ordered repeat nominations in the county within 96 hours, saying the votes tallied included an excess of 53,000.
But the Justice
observed the tribunal chaired by Kyalo Mbobu relied on a
2013 register yet the party registered new members after the general election that year.
She said this explained the discrepancy but that
“PPDT did not interrogate the issues with the seriousness they deserved".
"The tribunal failed to evaluate evidence from both sides to enable it arrive at a balanced decision," she added.
Ong'udi also said the appeal by Wa Iria had merits and that his rival Kigumo MP Jamleck Kamau, who initiated the proceedings before the tribunal, failed to challenge his claims.
Wa Iria beat Kamau by garnering 205,941 votes against his 118,274.
Kamau refused to participate in the repeat polls saying nothing would change. He had complained malpractices including widespread ballot stuffing and voter bribery.
He also said the party used the wrong register and that many people voted twice.
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