DCP candidate Sammy Douglas Waweru took an early lead in the Ol Kalou parliamentary by-election on Thursday night as provisional results from a majority of polling stations placed him well ahead of his closest rival, with official tallying continuing at the constituency tallying centre.
The provisional figures, which had not been confirmed by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) by the time of publication, showed Waweru opening a commanding lead over United Democratic Alliance (UDA) candidate Samuel Muchina Nyagah.
According to the provisional results received from at least 96 of the 114 polling stations, Waweru had garnered more than 10,000 votes against Muchina’s about 2,000.
The early results triggered celebrations among DCP supporters outside the constituency tallying centre at Ol Kalou Senior School.
Supporters sang, chanted victory slogans and waved party flags as they awaited the official declaration by the IEBC Returning Officer.
Despite the celebrations, the electoral commission cautioned the public against treating the provisional figures as final.
“The Returning Officer has the legal mandate to declare the final results,” the commission said, urging residents and political parties to wait for the official announcement.
Earlier, hundreds of residents accompanied vehicles transporting ballot boxes and election results from polling stations across the constituency to the tallying centre after voting closed.
Police vehicles led the convoy, with heavily armed officers escorting election materials from the polling stations to Ol Kalou Senior School under tight security.
At the AC Ol Kalou Polling Station, election officials sealed ballot boxes immediately after counting before loading them onto waiting vehicles under the watch of party agents, election observers and security officers.
The convoy, followed by residents on foot, motorcycles and private vehicles, travelled to the tallying centre where constituency officials began receiving and verifying results from polling stations across the constituency.
The security operation formed part of an elaborate plan by the National Police Service and the IEBC to safeguard the integrity of the by-election from voting, counting and tallying to the declaration of results.
Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja had announced the deployment of more than 1,000 police officers, including personnel from the General Service Unit (GSU), Anti-Stock Theft Unit (ASTU) and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), to secure the election.
He said every polling station had at least two police officers assigned to protect election materials, voters and electoral officials, with additional rapid response teams stationed across the constituency.
“Our officers are deployed to safeguard the voting materials and the voting process while ensuring electoral officials perform their duties without interference,” Kanja said ahead of the poll.
The police also deployed four water cannons and specialised units to respond to any security incidents during the exercise.
IEBC chairperson Erastus Ethekon said each presiding officer had been assigned two police officers responsible for maintaining law and order within a 400-square-metre radius of every polling station.
The commission also urged voters to leave polling stations immediately after casting their ballots to allow election officials to complete voting and counting without disruption.
Voting was largely peaceful across the constituency despite reports of a few isolated incidents outside some polling stations.
There were also reports that journalists covering the by-election were attacked by suspected goons while on assignment.
Media crews were reportedly harassed as they covered developments in the constituency, prompting condemnation from media stakeholders who called for better protection of journalists during elections.
The Ol Kalou parliamentary by-election attracted significant political attention after emerging as a key contest between President William Ruto’s UDA and the opposition-backed DCP. Senior leaders from both parties campaigned extensively in the constituency, presenting the race as an important political test ahead of the 2027 General Election.
By Thursday evening, the IEBC had not declared the winner, although provisional results continued to place Waweru comfortably ahead as tallying progressed.