Nyatike MP Tom Odege. [Photo/Daily Nation]
Homa Bay High Court has upheld the election of Tom Odege as Nyatike Member of Parliament in Migori County.
Justice Joseph Karanja delivered the ruling on Wednesday stating that the petition to challenge the election of Odege lacked enough evidence to prove that the MP was elected erroneously.
In the petition, Odege’s main rival in the election, an independent candidate Fredrick Ogenga Odiso expressed his dissatisfaction with the manner in which the election was conducted.
Ogenga had pleaded with the court to nullify the election on grounds that it was marred with irregularities and instead order a repeat poll in the constituency.
Last year on December 12, the Judge ordered for a recount of votes in 53 polling stations.
Judge Karanja noted that the petitioner failed to prove that the errors and irregularities he noticed were so grave that they could affect the final election results.
He ruled that the court finds the third respondent (Odege) was validly elected as an MP for Nyatike after garnering the highest number of votes.
Judge Karanja dismissed the petition and ordered each party to meet their own cost.
In the August election, Odege was declared the winner after garnering 26,872 votes against Ogenga who managed 22,815 votes.
However, while addressing the press after the judgment, Ogenga expressed his dissatisfaction with the ruling and announced that he intends to move to Court of Appeal.
Odege was not present in court during the judgment.