Candidates for the Garissa township parliamentary seat by-election have been urged to carry out clean campaigns that are devoid of incitement and name-calling.
Speaking at the IEBC constituency office after being cleared to contest by constituency returning officer Abdi Yunis, UDA candidate Mohamed Barrow Dekow further urged the electorates to keep away from aspirants who were hellbent on dividing them along clan lines.
“Now that the electoral body has cleared us to contest, I want to appeal to my fellow politicians and candidates who have been cleared that let us all strive to carry out issue-based campaigns and articulate to wananchi what they will do,” he said.
“I want to assure the people of Garissa, my supporters and my party that I will lead by example on this. Gone are those days when politicians used to throw the tribal or clan line to whip the emotions of the electorate in order to seek sympathy votes. Our people are very mature and they know the kind of person they want as their leader and whom they will vote for,” he said.
Dekow, who contested for the Garissa governorship seat in the august polls coming third expressed optimism of winning the seat promising to pick from where his predecessor Aden Duale who is now the Defense CS left.
“I know I am coming in to feel very big shoes of my brother Duale who served this constituency for 15 good years. It is a daunting task but I know I am capable of it. With the support of the constituents, I will not only win the seat but we will take huge development strides together."
Dekow who was flanked by his supporters said that if elected, he will ensure that all planned projects that the Defense CS had made during the campaign period are fulfilled.
Last week, Dekow’s bid to capture the seat got a major boost following the endorsement of Duale.
Abdullahi Gabane who in the August elections contested for the township and bagged 5,552 votes also threw his weight behind the UDA candidate.
The powerful Awdhaq community, politicians, professionals and community members endorsed Dekow as the sole candidate from the community.
Duale who first vied for the seat in 2007, then Dujis constituency, successfully defended it in the subsequent elections of 2013, and 2017 and in the August 9 polls remains a powerful figure in Garissa politics.
The race has attracted a total of ten candidates among them Dolal Nasir Mohamed of UDM who come second in the august polls.
The campaigns are slated to go on until December 19 when they will be closed.
According to IEBC, Garissa township has 54,000 voters.
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission has slated the by-election for Garissa and Kandara constituencies for January 5, 2023.
