UDA Concedes Defeat in Ol Kalou By-Election, Maintains Stronghold Status in Mt. Kenya

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 The United Democratic Alliance (UDA) has officially conceded defeat in the just-concluded Ol Kalou parliamentary by-election, downplaying the heavy loss and insisting the party remains a dominant political force in the Mt. Kenya region ahead of the 2027 General Election.

 The concession follows a decisive victory by Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP) candidate Sammy Kamau Ngotho, who clinched the seat with a landslide 35,440 votes. UDA’s flagbearer, Samuel Muchina Nyaga, finished a distant second with 5,450 votes.

         

UDA Secretary General Hassan Omar 

  Addressing journalists in Nairobi, UDA Secretary-General Hassan Omar stated that the party respects the democratic will of the Ol Kalou electorate. However, he was quick to frame the defeat as a broader collapse of the region's former ruling party, Jubilee, which previously held the seat.

   "The seat belonged to Jubilee, but they only managed 200 votes today," Omar noted, pointing out that former President Uhuru Kenyatta had thrown his full support behind the Jubilee camp. "Jubilee heavily lost a seat they were holding and had almost no chance of defending. UDA had a chance to recoup it."

  Despite the wide margin between the DCP winner and the UDA runner-up, Omar dismissed assertions that the ruling party is losing its grip on the crucial Mt. Kenya voting bloc. He maintained that UDA would continue to aggressively field candidates across the country without resorting to political zoning.

  "Even if the results were even worse, if there was another election again tomorrow, we'll do it again. If you tell us there's another election anywhere else in Mount Kenya West, we will still go there. We'll do it again and again. We'll not run away," Omar asserted.

   The by-election, which was marked by pockets of tension and allegations of violence, serves as a high-stakes litmus test for political alignments in the region as parties begin early positioning for the 2027 polls.

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