Jubilee's Githinji clinches Muguga Ward seat by 27-vote margin

Joseph Githinji of the Jubilee Party has won the Muguga Ward seat, the IEBC has announced after the tallying of all the 29 polling stations.

Githinji narrowly won with 4,089 votes against his closest rival, Peter Kamau of UDA who garnered 4,062 votes - a difference of only 27 votes.

Moses Gichau of the Thirdway Alliance candidate and People’s Party of Kenya’s (PPK) Peter Njoroge came a distant third and fourth with only 49 and 32 votes respectively. 

The close contest once again opened the lid on the rivalry between President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto over the control of the vote-rich Central region ahead of the 2022 polls.

The Muguga battle mirrored another close contest in Kiambaa where the parliamentary seat by-election was also conducted on Thursday.

The IEBC reported a turnout of 45.40 per cent in the Muguga by-election.

A total of 8, 342 votes were cast, with 110 being rejected.

The ward in Kiambu County has a total of 18, 374 registered voters.