President William Ruto’s UDA party has yet again called off the planned Nairobi county elections.
The elections had been scheduled for June 22 at the Bomas of Kenya.
“Due to unavoidable circumstances, the County-level election for Nairobi County will not take place as planned,” reads a statement issued by the party’s national elections board chairperson Anthony Mwaura.
Mwaura did not, however, provide reasons for the cancellation of the poll.
“We regret any inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your understanding,” he said.
He noted that further details regarding the rescheduling of this election will be communicated in due course.
This is now the second time in a row the party has postponed the county elections.
The Political Parties Dispute Tribunal halted the elections on June 6 following a complaint lodged by one of the factions.
In a move to find a resolution, President William Ruto directed his Deputy Rigathi Gachagua to lead talks between the two camps and find the way forward.
The highly emotive Nairobi County polls pit two factions allied to Governor Johnson Sakaja and Embakasi North MP James Gakuya.
"On Nairobi where two camps are at loggerheads on the process of elections, Ruto directed Deputy President to lead in negotiations that will lead to a political settlement," a statement by the UDA party said.
The President decided on Saturday evening after chairing the UDA National Executive Committee meeting at State House after days of push and pull.
The party said a decision was made that the Nairobi election be held in the coming days to enable party delegates pick their leaders.
"Nairobi's polls can be held on the same day as the other two counties," he said.
Gachagua, the country's second in command is said to be backing Gakuya's faction although the legislator has denied the reports.
It is not clear how the DP will navigate the negotiations given that he has been linked to the Gakuya camp.
The Gakuya faction reportedly wants elections held using a manual system while the Sakaja camp wants a pure digital process to elect county officials.
Following the Constituency elections held across Nairobi, Sakaja camp romped to victory, garnering 240 votes against Gakuya's 340 votes.
