After the recently concluded general elections and the swearing-in of Governor’s and their Deputies, eyes now have been set on the county Assemblies for the speaker elections. In Machakos County Assembly, Maendeleo Chap Chap will be facing off with Wiper for the position.
Some leaders who lost in the elections and other new names have shown interest in taking over from Florence Mwangangi who was the County Assembly speaker in the second Assembly.
Lawyer and politician Bernard Mung’ata who was vying for the senatorial seat in Machakos County on a Maendeleo Chap Chap ticket but lost to Agnes Kavindu Muthama of Wiper Party has expressed interest in the seat.
Mung’ata was also the first Machakos County Assembly Speaker where in the second County Assembly he vied but was defeated by Florence Mwangangi.
This will be Mung’ata’s third time vying for speaker with sources privy to the Assembly happenings telling us that he has been having meetings with the newly elected MCAs to seek their support.
The second candidate for speaker is Anne Kiusya. Kiusya is said to enjoy the backing of Wavinya Ndeti and Wiper party big wigs. However, Kalonzo Musyoka said the party doesn’t have preferred speaker candidates and it is up to MCAs to make their choice.
In the Assembly, Wiper has 25 MCAs. Maendeleo Chap Chap follows closely with 18 MCAs while UDA has 7. PTP has 3, CCU 2, PICK 1, GDDP 1, and 3 Independent. The numbers mean that wiper has to get into a coalition with the other small parties to maintain the majority.
Kenya Kwanza has 26 MCAs, if they lobby the independents and other small parties then they may carry the day. If Azimio votes as a block then they will have 31 MCAs.
In 2021 during the application for Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission(IEBC) commissioners, Anne Kiusya applied for the position but during the vetting period, she did not manage to get the position.
Little is known about her as it is her first time to vie for the county assembly speaker position making her the only woman on the list of candidates for the speaker position.
Machakos county MCAs will hold their first sitting tomorrow, 20th September where MCAs will be sworn in and immediately elect the speaker and Deputy Speaker. After the deadline for picking nomination papers, we will update on the full list of candidates.
The speaker of the county Assembly is voted by secret ballot by MCAs after their swearing-in. A person shall not be elected as Speaker unless supported in a ballot by the votes of two-thirds of all Members. If no candidate is supported by the votes of two-thirds of all Members, the candidate who received the highest number of votes in the ballot and the candidate or candidates who in that ballot received the next highest number of votes shall alone stand for election in a further ballot and the candidate who receives the highest number of votes in the further ballot shall be elected Speaker. The speaker is immediately sworn in and they shall notify the Members of the place, date, and time of the opening of the County Assembly.
