Nandi Hills MP Alfred Keter at a past event. [Photo: Joe Khisa]
A politician who finished second behind Nandi Hills Member of Parliament Alfred Keter in the August 8 poll has applied to be considered as a substitute in a petition challenging the MP's win.
This is after the petitioner, Joshua Maritim, a voter in Nandi Hills applied to withdraw the case.
Through his lawyer Robert Kemei, the voter told the Eldoret High court on Thursday that he had consulted widely and decided not to challenge Keter's win.
However, Bernard Kibor Kitur who vied for the seat and finished second and who had already been admitted as an interested party in the case said he was willing to take over the case to the end.
"My client is very ready to be substituted in this case keeping in mind he came second in the August poll with 13,872 votes, he was a candidate and a voter," said Kitur's lawyer Amos Magut.
The lawyer representing Keter and IEBC, Bernard Langat objected to Kitur's application to be allowed to go on with the case as a substitute but he had no objections to the application to withdraw the case.
"Kitur has no information on the case that the petitioner wants to withdraw. He's only an interested party and does not qualify to be a substitute since he filed his affidavits way past the set timelines," Langat said.
Eldoret High Court Judge George Kimondo will make a ruling on the two applications; the one seeking to withdraw the case and that seeking to be considered a substitute, on November 23, 2017.