Belgut MP Nelson Koech speaking during the interview/ SCREENGRAB
Belgut MP Nelson Koech has said the Ol Kalou parliamentary by-election taught the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) that attracting large crowds at campaign rallies does not necessarily translate into votes at the ballot.
Speaking on Citizen TV's Day Break on Monday morning, Koech described the outcome as a lesson for the ruling party, saying it highlighted the need to strengthen grassroots mobilisation, particularly in the Mt Kenya region.
"I've seen politicians in the recent past pulling big crowds. What Ol Kalou taught us was that crowds do not translate to votes."
The by-election, held last month in Nyandarua County, was won by the Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP), handing the opposition outfit its first parliamentary seat since its formation.
The result came despite an intensive UDA campaign that saw senior party leaders, elected officials and campaign teams traverse the constituency in the final days before polling.
During the campaign period, the government also accelerated the commissioning and inspection of several development projects in the constituency.
Koech said UDA's objective had been to retain the seat after the area previously elected a Jubilee Party MP.
"Our candidate lost. But it is a learning experience," he said.
He acknowledged that the defeat had sent an important message to the party.
"It gave us a very good warning that we need to work extra hard, particularly in that part of Kenya, Central Kenya," he said.
The Belgut legislator also reflected on pre-election opinion polls, which had projected varying outcomes.
Before the vote, Koech had publicly expressed confidence that UDA would win the contest, citing polling data.
On Monday, however, he acknowledged that different surveys produced different results.
"There are different polls that were conducted by different people. Some showed us winning by five per cent. Some showed us losing by five or 10 per cent," he said.
According to Koech, some privately commissioned surveys suggested a close race, while other assessments were based largely on campaign attendance rather than scientific polling.
"Some of them just interpreted the crowd to mean the results of the election. Sadly, that is not what we got. We got a different result, which is okay," he said.
Koech also suggested that voter turnout patterns may have influenced the final outcome.
He said the party's campaign had resonated strongly with younger voters but noted that older voters turned out in greater numbers on election day.
"I think we relied largely on the young people. If you saw the turnout in Ol Kalou and how the polls were done, most of the people who voted were largely elderly," he said.
During the interview, Koech defended UDA's campaign strategy after questions were raised about the pace of government development activities in the constituency during the campaign period.
He said the party deployed campaign teams and sought to market both its candidate and its development agenda.
"What was done in Ol Kalou by UDA was to get a seat," he said.
Koech maintained that he was not directly involved in organising the campaign on the ground and therefore could not account for all campaign activities undertaken by party officials.
"I did not personally go to Ol Kalou. Whatever machinery they deployed to campaign for our candidate, I didn't know. But we wanted a win as UDA," he said.
