A former Laikipia County government administrator during Governor Joshua Irungu’s first tenure as governor has been elected the new Assembly speaker.
Lantano Nabaala emerged victorious following the second round of voting by the 21 Members of the County Assembly in a crowded list of eight aspirants who were seeking to occupy the speaker’s seat.
In the first round, Nabaala beat his closest challenger Engineer Henry Mbuthia Kimani 13 to eight votes, but the voting had to go for a second round to determine a simple majority winner after the winner failed to garner at least two-thirds of the votes cast.
In the second round of voting Nabaala was declared the speaker by County Assembly Clerk Jasper Mutwiri after he got 14 votes against Kimani’s seven.
The win for Nabaala as speaker will be viewed as a big win for his native Samburu community who have been agitating for rightful inclusion in the leadership of Laikipia county.
Eng. Kimani unsuccessfully vied for the Laikipia Senate seat on a Chama Cha Kazi party during the August 9 general elections.
Other candidates for the race who included the immediate former speaker Patrick Waigwa did not get even a single vote.
Nanyuki ward MCA Anthony Theuri was elected the deputy speaker after beating his only rival Daniel Mugweru (Umade ward), 13 votes to eight.
Mugweru conceded defeat in the first round after he rose on a point of order and said he did not see the need for a re-run.