Deputy President William Ruto's supremacy in the Rift Valley was once again confirmed during Lelmokwo/Ngechek ward by-election, when Jubilee’s Julius Kipkosgei Arusei won the seat decisively on Friday.
Arusei garnered 3,243 votes, beating his closest competitor, Kanu’s Ezekiel Lelei who scored 2,010 votes in the hotly contested mini-polls.
A section of Jap supporters however admitted there was a resurgence of Kanu after Lelei who carried out a solo campaign narrowed the margin to about 1,200 votes.
The mini-poll was occasioned by the death of Hesbon Metto early this year, who was also the deputy speaker in Nandi County Assembly.
The by-election which had initially been billed as a supremacy battle between Jap and Kanu turned into a political battle between local politicians in the final stages.
Nandi Governor Cleophas Lagat kept off the campaigns amid claims that he was silently backing the Kanu candidate.
Local issues also dominated the campaigns, with grievances from the residents over alleged neglect by the county government in terms of development, with Senator Stephen Sang spearheading the Jubilee campaigns.
However Lagat’s team accused the Senator of using the campaigns to advance his political ambitions ahead of 2017 general election.