Former Trans Nzoia Finance executive Andrew Wanyonyi is the new county assembly Speaker after defeating former Cherangany MP Wesley Korir in Tuesday’s election.
Mr Wanyonyi, a close ally of outgoing Defense Cabinet Secretary Eugene Wamalwa, won the highly contested seat with a simple majority of votes against the UDA candidate.
Assembly Clerk Moses Lubao said Mr Wanyonyi garnered 20 votes against Mr Korir’s 13.
The race attracted 11 contestants, but only seven were cleared to vie.
Also in the race were former Speakers David Sifuna Mukinisu and Joshua Werunga.
Mr Lubao earlier ordered a rerun after the candidates failed to garner a two-thirds majority. In the initial voting, Mr Wanyonyi received19 votes against Mr Korir’s 14.
All the 33 ward representatives were present and took part in the election.
Mr Korir, a 2012 Boston Marathon winner who lost the Cherangany parliamentary bid to Patrick Simiyu in the August 9 elections, was banking on the majority UDA members to win the Speaker’s seat.
Voting narrowed down to seven contestants when none failed to meet the two-thirds majority threshold (at least 22 votes) in the first round.
Mr Wanyonyi was subsequently sworn in by the clerk and immediately after his inauguration speech assumed his duties by overseeing the election of his deputy.
“Top on our agenda will be integration of our people. We hope to demonstrate this in our mandate as the third assembly,” he said.
Matisi ward MCA Obed Mwale was elected deputy Speaker unopposed because he was the only one who applied.
The 25 elected and eight nominated MCAs took the oath of office on Tuesday morning, with the Clerk Lupao presiding. BY DAILY NATION