Senator Veronicah Maina blames low UDA primaries turnout on weekday voting
By Mabonga Makhanu, May 11, 2026Nominated Senator Veronicah Maina has attributed the low turnout witnessed during the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) primaries in Ol Kalou to the poll day being held on a weekday.
While speaking during an interview with a local radio station, the former United Democratic Alliance (UDA) secretary general said that scheduling the nominations on Friday, May 9, 2026, worked to their detriment since, according to her, many people were at work and could not make it to the ballot to vote.
“The UDA party primaries were done on a Friday the community of Ol Kalou; they could not turn up to vote. When you choose a weekday like that, the numbers are affected; the best day to do a party primary is always on a weekend.”
She continued defending what appeared to be UDA’s Waterloo, saying that on that day, Ol Kalou residents were busy with their jobs and various activities aimed at building the nation and therefore could not turn up to vote.
UDA turnout
Veronicah Maina further added that the real turnout and metric to ascertain popularity between the Democracy for Citizens (DCP) and UDA will be known on July 15, 2026, the day the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) election will be held.
She laughed off the DCP party’s celebration of the victory, terming it short-lived, saying that the real contest has not yet begun. She said that the Rigathi Gachagua-led party are dancing before the drumbeat.
She also took issue with DCP’s conduct during the nominations, saying that they were not relying on the party members’ register and instead depended on IEBC records. According to her, this allowed any Tom, Dick, and Harry to walk into any polling station and vote, hence the larger turnout.
Old Kalou primaries’ outcome
Her remarks come after the DCP primaries recorded a significantly higher turnout compared to the UDA exercise. Kamau Ngotho emerged victorious in the DCP race with 12,957 votes, while the third-placed candidate, Peter Karanja, garnered 3,919 votes — a figure still higher than the 3,221 votes secured by UDA winner Samuel Muchina Nyaga. He narrowly defeated his closest rival, George Wambugu Kanuri (alias Delight), who garnered 3,077 votes.
The second runner-up in the DCP party, Paul Waiganjo, came a distant second with 4,978 votes, while Peter Karanja came third with 3,919 votes, pushing the total turnout for the DCP exercise to over 20,000 votes, far ahead of the UDA party.