By Abdikadir Sugow
The seat of President will be won or lost in Nairobi County in the General Election, analysts say.
The capital will also see the hottest battles for governor, senator, Members of Parliament, county representative and women’s representative.
Nairobi remains the main focus under the new Constitution, not only because it is the capital city, the economic and administrative hub of the region, but also because it remains the national political hotbed.
As candidates gear up for polls next year, it is becoming apparent parties’ influence in the public domain and the individual output of aspirants will play a big part on who will win.
This realisation has sent party operatives scrambling for the rich harvest of political opportunities.
Long gone are the days when it was known as the ‘Green City in the Sun’, but Nairobi still attracts thousands of migrants from different parts of the country seeking opportunities. The population has ballooned to about four million.
Political fortunes
These migrants have made Nairobi a cosmopolitan city where ethnicity plays out in the determination of political fortunes, depending on the region where communities reside.
The Luo and Luhya from western Kenya have always exerted influence on the outcomes alongside their brethren from the Kikuyu, Kamba, and Maasai communities whose ancestral homes are nearer to the city.
Politicians are among those seeking the fortunes occasioned by the new Constitution and the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) that has seen Nairobi get a lion’s share of available electoral seats in Nairobi County which will control an annual budget of Sh12 billion under the devolved system of governance.
Nairobi now has 17 parliamentary constituencies, up from eight before the gazettment of the delineated boundaries. Apart from the Governor’s position which is shaping up for a titanic battle, there are 17 parliamentary seats up for grabs and the aspirants are already emerging to stake their claim.
