•He said the voters from the constituency only care about the track record of individual candidates.
•Muluan who is contesting on the DAP-K ticket said he had a deserved break.
Image: DICKENS WASONGA
Former Alego Usonga MP Omondi Muluan has expressed optimism about recapturing the seat he lost to Samuel Atandi in 2017, saying political parties won't matter in the election.
Alego Usonga is in ODM leader Raila Odinga's home county of Siaya and ODM candidates have a huge advantage over their rivals.
But Muluan has dared his ODM rival Atandi, boasting that he beat then ODM candidate Edwin Yinda in 2013 to win the seat.
He ran on the Wiper party ticket at the time.
Speaking to the Star on Monday, the former MP said the choice of the party as a vehicle to parliament doesn't matter in Alego Usonga politics.
He said the voters from the constituency only care about the track record of individual candidates.
“The people of Alego Usonga have demonstrated in the past that they elect leaders and not necessarily those running on preferred parties,” he said.
“The people of Alego Usonga who threw me out in 2017 have realised they committed a mistake and they have the opportunity to make the right decision this time.”
Muluan who is contesting on the DAP-K ticket said he had a deserved break and is ready to make a comeback to complete projects he initiated.
“I will focus on education, health and agriculture,” he said.
He said he will construct more classrooms in primary schools to support CBC implementation in the constituency.
“The government is preparing for the intake of the junior secondary students and as such, MPs can support the initiative by building more classrooms using CDF. That will be top on my agenda If I win,” he said.
Muluan said when he was the MP, he put up 146 classrooms and five new secondary schools in Alego Usonga.
“The incumbent has only done 46 classrooms in the five years he was in office. He never constructed a single new secondary school in the constituency but has focused on painting and renovations,” he said.
Although health and agriculture are devolved, Muluan said he will work closely with the Siaya county government to improve food production and the provision of health care services.
“I worked closely with the National Cereals and Produce Board to avail subsidised fertiliser to the farmers. I built fertiliser stores in Boro, Uranga and Karemo/ Awelo where farmers would access them for free. This has not happened after I left,” he said.
Muluan said he was able to buy ambulances for some of the wards in the constituency and hopes to partner with the incoming Siaya governor to purchase ambulances which will serve as mobile clinics for each of the wards.
Muluan has adopted town hall meetings as his campaign strategy to outwit Atandi.
“In these meetings, I get an opportunity to explain my agenda to the people of Alego Usonga,” he said.
“They get an opportunity to interrogate my manifesto.”
Atandi who is defending his seat believes his record will convince the 122,000 registered voters in the constituency to hand him another term.
Running as an ODM candidate Atandi will be seeking to break the one-term jinx that has been witnessed in the constituency since the introduction of the multi-party democracy.
Edited by Kiilu Damaris