Jubilee Uasin Gishu leaders at a press conference in Eldoret on October 27, 2017. [Photo: Joe Khisa]
Elected Jubilee leaders in Uasin Gishu county have come out to defend themselves following low voter turnout that was witnessed across the county in the recently concluded repeat Presidential election.
Addressing the press at the Sirikwa hotel in Eldoret town on Friday, the leaders led by Governor Jackson Mandago and Senator Prof. Margaret Kamar said they were happy with the number of voters who turn out for the poll.
They, however, said the closure of universities and the cosmopolitan nature of the county considered a key Jubilee stronghold is a reason behind a drop in votes to President Uhuru Kenyatta.In the annulled August 8 results, President Kenyatta garnered over 267,000 votes but in the repeat poll, he only managed 263,598.
"The overall voter turnout across the county was 60.5% compared to 72% for August which is a 12% drop. This can be explained by the fact that university students did not vote as well the NASA supporters since this is a cosmopolitan county," said Prof. Kamar.
"We are happy with the turnout as during the campaigns we had a hard time convincing our people to go back to the ballot yet they felt to have already made their choice on August 8," added governor Mandago.
In the official results announced in the county, no constituency registered over 70 percent of voter turnout with only Ainabkoi (67), Moiben (65) and Soy (62) registering over 60 percent.
Kapseret constituency had 54 percent voter turnout with Turbo, the biggest constituency in the county and home to Deputy President William Ruto registering the lowest percentage of 49 percent.