ODM Malindi-by election candidate Mr Willy Baraka Mtengo (left) with
Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho. Several ODM nomination losers have
conspired to front a candidate to face off with Cord and Jubilee
aspirants in the March 7 by-elections. PHOTO | DENNIS ONSONGO | NATION
MEDIA GROUP
Coastal political parties have named their candidates for the
March 7 Malindi by-election, complicating the game plans for both the
Jubilee Alliance Party and ODM.
Sunday,
Shirikisho Party of Kenya unveiled its candidate, Mr David Mangi, who
was endorsed by the nine Mijikenda Kaya elders from Kilifi and Kwale
counties at a ceremony organised by the Malindi District Cultural
Association.
According to the
association’s Secretary-General, Mr Joseph Mwarandu, the elders also
blessed the Kadu-Asili candidate, Mr Reuben Katana.
“We
have no option but to let everyone try his luck. They are all our sons
but when we tried to have them agree on a single candidate and they
disagreed,” he said.
The Kadu-Asili
party leader, Mr Gunga Mwinga, also the Kaloleni MP, campaigned for his
party’s candidate with rallies at Kakuyuni, Mkaa Moto and Malindi
central wards.
At Kakuyuni, he told
voters not to be swayed by the big parties’ euphoria but instead vote
for a candidate of integrity and one who will provide solutions to their
problems.
“We have come here with a party that has the regional roots. Our symbol is palm tree,” he told one of the rallies.
The Federal Party of Kenya’s campaigns for its candidate, Mr Yusuf Aboubakar, is expected to start this week.
Sunday, a loser in the ODM nominations, Mr Ahmed Mohamed Ali, defected from the party to run as an independent candidate.
He told the Nation that last Tuesday’s “boardroom announcement” of the ODM candidate in Nairobi forced him to vie as an independent .
“How
can you blame the IEBC for flawed elections when your own nominations
are riddled with malpractice and discrimination on basis of religion,
tribe, race and gender?” he asked, criticising the method that the
Opposition party used to select its candidate. Mr Ali promised to give
his former party a run for its money.
Already,
Mr Ali has started gathering 500 signatures to be forwarded to the
Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission before the February 8
nomination deadline.
DEVELOPMENT
Over
the weekend, a section of Opposition Coast politicians accused the
Jubilee government of starving opposition strongholds of development.
Led
by Kilifi Governor Amason Kingi, they asked President Uhuru Kenyatta
and his deputy, Mr William Ruto, to run the country as stipulated in the
Constitution of Kenya.
Speaking at
Langobaya in Malindi, the governor said the President was blackmailing
Malindi residents to vote for Jubilee in the March 7 by-election.
“What type of leadership is it that says we will not develop your place since you did not vote for us?” he asked.
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