A former Jubilee candidate for the vacant Kabuchai MP seat has faulted the party for withdrawing his candidature and endorsing the Ford Kenya nominee.
Evans Makokha whose name had been forwarded to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission said the party's decision was erroneous.
Speaking to the press in Bungoma town, Makokha said he wasn’t consulted on the matter, casting doubts on the democratic credentials of the Jubilee Party.
“I had done everything within the party requirements and even the party itself forwarded my name to IEBC only for a few operatives to come out and declare they will support a Ford Kenya candidate,” Makokha said.
Jubilee secretary-general Raphael Tuju said last week that the party will not field candidates in by-elections for MP in Matungu and Kabuchai and the Machakos Senate seat.
Tuju said the party made the decision in line with its position to unify the country through the Building Bridges Initiative.
He said the vacant seats were previously held by Ford Kenya, ANC and Wiper, parties which are friendly to Jubilee
However, Makokha wondered why the party had allowed him to pay the nomination fee of Sh100,000 and even forwarded his name to IEBC if it would change later.
He said Tuju called while he attended an IEBC meeting with aspirants to say they had withdrawn his nomination.
“How on earth do you just tell me to withdraw from a race yet I have invested so much in it with no proper explanation to myself and my supporters,” Makokha said.
Makokha said he had immense pressure from his supporters not to let the matter go without a fight.
He said he was in a tight corner because the law does not allow him to move to any other party nor vie as an independent candidate.
“We are going to be forced to support a candidate opposed to Jubilee,” he said.
