Azimio parties set to clash in Mombasa governor race
Azimio La Umoja is staring at a fresh headache in the Mombasa governor race as two of its affiliate parties have declared to field candidates in the August election.
Wiper Democratic Movement is fronting Kisauni MP Ali Mbogo to battle it out with whoever wins the Orange party ticket between businessman Suleiman Shahbal and Mvita MP Abdulswamad Nassir.
Mbogo said Wiper is not ready to drop its ambition to field candidates in Mombasa even after the party signed a political pact with Azimio.
“So far there is no agreement in Azimio to field one candidate. For us, we have paid all the fees required to participate in the race and we are ready for the task,” Mbogo stated.
Should they not agree on a formidable candidate, history will repeat itself after a similar scenario was witnessed in 2017 elections.
In 2017, Governor Hassan Joho of ODM was in a fierce political fight with the then Senator Hassan Omar of Wiper. Joho defeated Omar.
Speaking in Mombasa yesterday, Mbogo warned his rivals to prepare for a contest like no other in the race to succeed Joho.
Nassir and Shahbal are still locked in a row after ODM suspended primaries in Mombasa.
Mbogo, who is banking on a significant Kisauni vote, says his opponents are banking on ODM influence and have nothing to offer politically.
He says his development record speaks for itself and residents have every reason to elect him as their next governor.
“Our record speaks for itself; the residents of Kisauni have credited me for the development record, so I do not see any reason why a Mombasa resident would not go for development that we have been championing,” said Mbogo.
Kisauni constituency is among the vote-rich sub-counties with over 120,000 registered voters.
