Four MP have travelled to the United States to observe elections pitting President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden.
They include Rarieda MP Otiende Amollo, Jeremiah Kioni (Ndaragwa), Abdi Shurie (Balambala) and Kisumu Senator Fred Outa.
Otiende is the vice-chairman of the National Assembly’s Justice and Legal Affairs Committee while Kioni chairs the Constitution Implementation Oversight Committee.
The delegation is expected to be in the US for about five days, their trip being among the first since Covid-19 disrupted international travels.
Otiende earlier told the Star that the trip was the reason he would not be at the Naivasha meeting which started on Sunday to fine-tune the recommendations of the Building Bridges Initiative task force.
Kioni had only said he would not attend the Naivasha meeting but the Star has since learned his absence is tied to the trip.
“I will not attend the meeting as I have prior commitments,” Kioni told the Star on the phone on Saturday.
National Assembly Clerk Michael Sialai told the Star the lawmakers will join the delegation of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission that is also travelling to the US to observe the election.
“They have been officially invited along with the IEBC to observe the US elections,” Sialai said. The US presidential poll is expected to close on November 4.
According to various news agencies, the voter turnout may surpass the 138 million that voted in 2016. The participation rate, according to Reuters, stood at 65 per cent of the 2016 vote as of Saturday.
The wind of uncertainty has rocked the election amid unclear indications by Trump that he will accept the results.
Source: The Star