•The elders have asked Boray to respect their decision and rally behind Keynan.
•Keynan would be seeking a fifth term consecutively and the sixth since 1997.
Image: STEPHEN ASTARIKO
Influential elders in Eldas constituency have endorsed current MP Adan Keynan to defend his seat in the 2022 general election.
The move by the power brokers has given the powerful secretary for the Jubilee parliamentary group a major boost in his bid for the fifth term.
A delegation of over 200 members-including elders, Sheikhs and Ugases said their declaration means that their initial support for Ahmed Boray Arale has been rescinded.
The elders of the Jiro family had in the 2017 general election endorsed Boray as their preferred choice for MP.
However, in changing fortunes for Keynan, a meeting held in Eldas town resolved to front him as the community’s preferred parliamentary candidate in the 2022 polls.
“We are contented that the outcome of our decision is ultimately the voice and choice of the vast population of the people of Eldas who have greatly benefited from Keynan’s transformation leadership in all sectors of the economy,” they said in a statement.
They added: “We must speak with firmness and finality to shape the future of our people and the entire community as we face the pre-election and post-election season.”
They spoke after a two-day retreat to craft the community’s 2022 political succession.
The elders told the media on Sunday that their decision was reached after a robust review of the candidatures of each of the hopefuls against the capacity to deliver on the expectations of Wananchi.
They said they had bee keenly following the state of political affairs in the area and arrived at the decision they said would continue to influence positive change for the people of Eldas to realise more development in the future.
In the statement, the clan asked to religiously accept their decision and support Keynan, whom they applauded for his stellar track record.
The team which also included influential businessmen also called on the whole of the Jiro community and the entire Eldas population to support Keynan.
Unanimously, the decision by the delegation in support of Keynan, they said, was critical at a time when the region aligns itself in 2022 succession matrix.
The clan appealed to the communities living in the larger Wajir county and particularly Eldas to vote for good leaders to realise a steady push for development in the region.
They further thanked Boray for respecting the decision and promising to abide by it.
Politics in the larger North Easter region is shaped by clan decisions and negotiations with those who sail through likely to get an easy ride at the ballot.