Kalonzo says Ol Kalou vote signals \u2018what is coming in 2027\u2019 after DCP\u2019s landslide win<\/p>\n
NAIROBI,Kenya July 17 \u2013 Wiper Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka has hailed the Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP)\u2019s emphatic victory in the Ol Kalou parliamentary by-election, describing the outcome as a powerful rejection of President William Ruto\u2019s administration and a glimpse of the political tide ahead of the 2027 General Election.<\/p>\n
In a statement issued shortly after the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) declared DCP candidate Sammy Douglas Kamau Waweru the winner, Kalonzo congratulated the party and its supporters, saying the electorate had defied what he termed widespread intimidation and state interference.<\/p>\n
\u201cCongratulations, Sammy Kamau Ngotho and the DCP on this resounding victory in the Ol Kalou by-election,\u201d Kalonzo said.<\/p>\n
The former Vice President alleged that the by-election was conducted under an atmosphere of heavy security deployment and intimidation, accusing the government of using the National Police Service to influence the outcome.<\/p>\n
\u201cKenyans have witnessed the sheer siege on Ol Kalou, indeed, on the whole of Nyandarua County, by the National Police Service. Masked men were unleashed to instil fear on wananchi; young and old, men, women and youth alike,\u201d he claimed.<\/p>\n
Kalonzo further accused the government of engaging in widespread voter bribery during the campaigns, saying public resources had allegedly been deployed in a failed bid to sway voters.<\/p>\n
\u201cBribery was deployed without shame, and on such a large scale that it can only be described as disgusting,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The opposition leader also alleged that intimidation had become a deliberate political strategy by the Kenya Kwanza administration but argued that voters had ultimately rejected the pressure and voted according to their conscience.<\/p>\n
\u201cIntimidation became policy by the current regime, in their painful attempt to deter the will of the people. Yet Ol Kalou stood firm,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He said the outcome carried significance beyond the election of a single Member of Parliament, arguing that it reflected growing public dissatisfaction with the government.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is not just a parliamentary seat won. This is a message sent to Mr Ruto, to his regime, to Kenya and indeed to the world: WANTAM,\u201d Kalonzo declared, invoking the opposition\u2019s rallying slogan that calls for President Ruto to serve only one term.<\/p>\n
He maintained that no amount of state power could overturn the wishes of voters.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou cannot police away the will of a people. You cannot bribe away their conscience. You cannot mask your way into their hearts,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Kalonzo predicted that the Ol Kalou outcome would foreshadow the country\u2019s next General Election.<\/p>\n
\u201cOl Kalou has shown Kenya what is coming in 2027,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The remarks came after IEBC Returning Officer Antony Njiraine declared Kamau the winner after he garnered 35,440 votes, defeating UDA candidate Samuel Muchina Nyagah, who received 5,450 votes, in one of the widest victory margins recorded in recent parliamentary by-elections.<\/p>\n
The by-election attracted national attention after both the Kenya Kwanza coalition and the opposition deployed senior political leaders to campaign in the constituency, turning the race into a symbolic contest over political influence in the Mt Kenya region.<\/p>\n
The election was, however, marred by isolated incidents of violence, including attacks on journalists and allegations of voter intimidation, claims that the government has yet to formally respond to. The National Police Service has maintained that officers were deployed to safeguard the electoral process and maintain public order.<\/p>\n
Both the government and opposition interpret the Ol Kalou outcome as an early indicator of the battle for the Mt Kenya vote ahead of the 2027 General Election.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Kalonzo says Ol Kalou vote signals \u2018what is coming in 2027\u2019 after DCP\u2019s landslide win NAIROBI,Kenya July 17 \u2013 Wiper Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka has hailed the Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP)\u2019s emphatic victory in the Ol Kalou parliamentary by-election, describing the outcome as a powerful rejection of President William Ruto\u2019s administration and a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-147061","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147061","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=147061"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147061\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=147061"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=147061"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=147061"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}