Nine aspirants are seeking to succeed Kisii Governor James Ongwae next year.
They include Deputy Governor Joash Maangi, Senator Sam Ongeri, Woman Representative Janet Ong’era, MPs Simba Arati (Dagoretti North) and Ezekiel Machogu (Nyaribari Masaba).
Others include Transport Chief Administration Secretary Chris Obure, former South Mugirango MPs Manson Nyamweya and Omingo Magara, and Rachael Otundo.
Some of the things that will determine who wins the seat include the clan factor and completion of development projects.
Maangi has told Ongeri to drop his bid because of his age. Ongeri is 83 years old.
Maangi also said he wants to complete the projects he initiated with Ongwae.
Ongwae has said he has no preferred aspirant he is supporting at the moment.
“I have no preferred candidate, but I am weighing those interested in the seat. Our party [ODM] is going to conduct free, fair and transparent nominations,” Ongwae said.
Those seeking the ODM ticket are Maangi, Arati, Ongeri and Ong’era.
Ongwae said leaders in the county will be consulted before a candidate is picked to fly the ODM flag. He said the county requires a manager who can unite residents and develop the region.
The governor said the party will come up with a suitable method to pick the strongest candidate, which will not fuel conflicts between the aspirants and the election coordinators.
Ongwae said he has advised Maangi to consult his Bomachoge clansmen to give him political direction and decide whether to stick with ODM or move to UDA.
Maangi said he is still in ODM and has only been associating with Deputy President William Ruto as a friend.
Arati has picked former Nyaribari Chache MP Robert Monda as his running mate.
The MP said he is best-suited to succeed Ongwae and would use his global network to get investors to invest in the county to boost the lives of residents.
Ong’era said the time is ripe for a woman to lead the county.
She said she will ensure that every village is connected with clean drinking water and electricity.
Edited by A.N
