Abdulswamad claims early win in Mombasa governor race

Mombasa Governor candidate Abdulswamad Nassir adressing journalists at Swahilipot in Mombasa.[Omondi Onyango,Standard]

ODM candidate for the Mombasa gubernatorial race Abdulswamad Nassir has claimed an early win in the governership contest even as vote counting was still going on.

It is important to note that the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) is yet to announce the official results for the Mombasa governorship position.

Addressing journalists at the Kizingo tallying centre on Monday, August 29, Nassir claimed that results tallied so far were favouring him.

"The results look quite promising in all constituencies. Today is the day we will do away with abusive politics.

"This is a lesson to every politician in this country that you can win without necessarily having a foul mouth," he added.

Seven candidates are seeking to succeed outgoing governor Hassan Joho in the county with Nassir and Hassan Omar (UDA) being the front-runners in the race.

The region has over 600,000 registered voters. However, a low turnout was experienced across the six sub-counties compared to the presidential election held on August 9.

According to County Returning Officer Swalha Yusuf, only about 200,000 people cast their vote in the county today.

The Mombasa governorship election was postponed from August 9, 2022 to August 23, 2022, over ballot papers mix-up. It was again moved forward to August 29, 2022, after IEBC cited intimidation and harassment of its staff.