Jump to navigation

Kenya

Mixed signals about an election for a new governor in Nairobi

PREVIEW

In what should be a safe seat for their combined forces, Kenyatta and Odinga seem to have reservations about the vote

The next pitched battle between Deputy President William Ruto and the 'handshake' coalition of President Uhuru Kenyatta and erstwhile opposition leader Raila Odinga is centred over whether and when a by-election to replace impeached Nairobi governor Mike Sonko should be held.

The 'handshake coalition' moved quickly to install Anne Mwenda as deputy governor of Nairobi and three days later as acting governor without an election (AC Vol 62 No 2, The race for Nairobi).

However, the electoral commission has warned that not holding a by-election would risk a constitutional crisis, while Ruto is calling for a poll fresh off the back of a by-election win for his candidate in the Coastal Msambweni seat (AC Vol 62 No 1, Handshake to face poll test). Sonko, meanwhile, is still challenging his dismissal.

The Kenyatta/Odinga alliance's fears of a poll are surprising. Nairobi county has never been a Ruto stronghold, and the numbers would suggest that a Kenyatta/Odinga-backed candidate would be favourite to win.

Copyright © Africa Confidential 2024
https://www.africa-confidential.com

Prepared for Free Article on 15/10/2024 at 11:29. Authorized users may download, save, and print articles for their own use, but may not further disseminate these articles in their electronic form without express written permission from Africa Confidential / Asempa Limited. Contact subscriptions@africa-confidential.com.

Related Articles

The race for Nairobi

The BBI alliance is manoeuvring its ally into the Nairobi governorship because it fears losing another by-election

The political differences between Deputy President William Ruto and President Uhuru Kenyatta are playing themselves out in the tussle to fill the position of the governor of Nairob...

Handshake to face poll test

The President’s coalition with his former adversary will be put to the electorate in 2021 against a backdrop of economic pain

After a catastrophic decline in economic performance due to Covid-19 in 2020, aggravated by corruption and wrong-headed fiscal and public debt policies, 2021 promises to be particu...

Questions about the electoral referee

A dysfunctional electoral commission is targeted again amid growing fears of vote manipulation and political interference

Whatever doubts existed about the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission’s ability to supervise next week’s general election have only deepened in the final stretch of th...

An executive not executing

Alarm grows over the government’s failure to deliver and to get organised amidst ever more visible signs of cronyism

While confusion reigns in Kenya’s public service, the patterns of governance under President Uhuru Kenyatta are becoming clearer. Squabbling between cabinet secretaries and t...

Murder most foul

A horrifying assassination has set the country on edge just days before an already tense general election

It was a political killing in the country's worst tradition. Musalia Mudavadi, a joint leader of the opposition, called it 'a dagger into the heart of Kenyan democracy' and Preside...

READ FOR FREE

Stories by country

Footer Map