The third Kakamega county assembly will hold its first sitting on Wednesday.
The 59 elected and 30 nominated MCAs will be sworn into office by acting clerk John Simwa before electing the speaker and his deputy.
The MCA election for East Wanga ward was suspended after one of the candidates died before the August 9 polls.
Governor Fernandes Barasa on Friday gazetted September 21 as the first sitting of the assembly.
Barasa was sworn in office together with his deputy Ayub Savula on Thursday last week.
"The powers conferred by Sections 7a and 7b of the County Governments Act, 2012 and Standing Order No 3 of the Kakamega County Assembly Standing Orders, I appoint that the first sitting of the third County Assembly shall be held at the county chambers on September 21, 2022, at 9.00 am," the notice dated September 16 reads.
The assembly will be dominated by new faces after 45 of the 60 MCAs who served in the second assembly were sent packing by voters.
The speaker race has attracted seven candidates.
They include former speaker Morris Buluma, former majority leader Kennedy Kilwake, former Shinyalu MP Justus Kizito, Brian Lishenga, Leonard Shimaka, James Namatsi and Soita Kasaya.
The race will be an ODM affair after the party bagged the majority of the MCA seats.
The Kenya Kwanza ward reps will provide swing vote in the race.
Barasa is said to be pushing Namatsi. He has however denied involvement in the speaker election.
Savula has declared he will play neutral role in the speaker race.
Lobbying of MCAs has been in top gear, with candidates meeting them in different locations to plot against each other.
The candidates are also lobbying based on regions they come from under the regional balance banner.
Control of the assembly is critical to the governor as it approves all county on programme besides its legislative mandate.
This, however, tends to relax the role of oversight.
(edited by Amol Awuor)
