Battle for Wajir South narrows down to two

By Boniface Ongeri and Adow Jubat

The battle for Wajir South parliamentary seat has narrowed down to two ahead of the Wednesday by-election.

Campaigns for the seat have been complicated by harsh weather and drought as campaigners arrive in villages to find them deserted, with residents out looking for pasture and relief food.

Many candidates have since taken a backseat and their presence on the ground is hardly felt, with just a day to voting day.

The constituency has 21,703 registered voters, with 69 polling stations and recorded a 60 per cent turnout in the August 4 referendum.

Clan voting

Observers, however, argue the tussle will be largely decided by clan loyalty voting.

The race is narrowing down to a two-horse contest between Abdrahaman Hassan Ali (Kanu) and Mohammed Mahamud Sirat (ODM-K). The two have left nothing to chance ahead of the by-election.

Others on the ballot paper are Abdullahi Bulale (Narc), Ahmed Ali Mukthar (National Agenda Party of Kenya), Abdirizak Mohammed Ibrahim (Labour Party of Kenya), Nur Adan Awil (National Vision Party of Kenya) and Omar Ibrahim Hanshi (Mkenya Solidarity Movement).

Contestants have focused on Biyamathow, Sarif, Kursi, Machesa, Burder and part of Habaswein as voting day nears in a last-minute attempt to woo votes. The Provincial Administration, which actively campaigned for the new Constitution, has largely taken an observer role.

Hopes by leading candidates of external help in the campaigns were dashed after top officials in Kanu and ODM-K agreed to leave the constituents make independent choices.

Nominated MP Mohammed Affey from Wajir South Constituency has been campaigning for Sirat in what is seen as an extension of his rivalry with Ali, who beat him to the seat in the 2002 General Election.

Ali is from the Mohammed Suwer sub-clan, while Affey is a Magabul. The two clans have dominated the political landscape of the constituency for a long time.

Ali has a huge task of unifying his sub-clan to back his bid, with Abdullahi Bulale (Narc) and Ahmed Ali Mukhtar (National Agenda Party of Kenya), from his clan also vying.

The vast Wajir South Constituency stretches over an area of 22, 000 square kilometers, the size of Nyanza and Central provinces combined.