UDA's Cecily Mbarire and Development Empowerment Party (Mbus) Lenny Kivuti are dominating the arena.
The two other contestants are Jubilee's Emilio Kathuri and DP's Dr Njagi Kumantha.
The last opinion polls indicate leanings toward Kivuti and Mbariri.
Embu has 334,302 registered voters, according to the gazetted voter register.
Manyatta has 106,588 voters, followed by Runyenjes with 95,326, Mbeere South with 77,264 and Mbeere North with 55,124.
The distribution of voters is the major factor in the title race with both Kivuti and Mbarire wanting to secure their subcounties before securing other areas.
Embu political analyst Alex Njogu said Mbarire, from Runyenjes and an Embu-speaking subcommunity, is doing all she can to secure the upper county votes in Manyatta and Runyenjes constituencies.
Njogu said Kivuti has the determination to penetrate the upper region as well, considering the region has the highest number of votes and thus could decide the election.
"Upper Embu has the interest of each candidate due to its many registered voters. Mbarire will have to do all she can to secure the votes while Kivuti is determined to acquire them," Njogu said.
Political analyst Patrick Murimi said the manifesto factor is key to luring the electorate; both Mbarire and Kivuti have been working hard to describe how they will benefit voters.
He said Mbarire's manifesto is dominated by agriculture and health that favour the majority of residents.
Murimi said Mbarire has convinced upper county voters who mainly depend on tea and coffee farming and the lower part of the county who are muguka and fruits farmers.
He said Kivuti has generalised on county development, which many people say sounds more like corporate promises than grassroots community benefits.
Murimi said Azimio's promise of community dams appeals to the majority of lower voters who suffer from lack of water for irrigation.
"Mbarire and Kivuti manifestos have a high bar in convincing the voters of type of leaders they want. Residents want the health sector and agriculture improved, thus, the candidate who best articulates these issues will sway a good number," the analyst said.
At a rally at Kagaari North on Monday, Kivuti said his government will be dedicated to value-addition in agricultural products to promote the agricultural sector.
He has also promised to lobby four mega dams in the county to improve irrigation.
"My aim is to make Embu the leading county in development. We have enough resources to boost our wealth," Kivuti said.
He said the best method to achieve this is to ensure everyone partners with him in development. Working together will empower residents to achieve more wealth though their county is rich in resources.
"Everyone would like to be rich. This will happen if we set up our own factories and concentrate on value addition of our coffee, tea and other products. I guarantee that under my leadership, this will happen as we develop our county," Kivuti said.
Mbarire recently has cast her net wide to woo vote from farmers, the business community and other special interest groups.
Her development agenda has been dominated by improving the health sector. She seeks to assure voters she will clean the health department 'mess'.
Mbarire has told women in Runyenjes the health sector will be her focus as too many residents go to other counties for services that should be available in Embu.
"I will ensure our health sector is improved. Our people have been travelling to the neighbouring counties to seek health services and that needs to stop," Mbarire said.
She also said the county is rich in coffee, tea, milk and fruits, which need to be expanded and improved to raise standards of living.
"It will be very important to have manufacturers and readily available markets for our farm products. We want our youths employed and money in our pockets," Mbarire said.
RUNNING MATE FACTOR
Both Kivuti and Mbarire's running mates hail from Manyatta constituency, which is the subcounty with the most eligible voters.
Mbarire's running mate Kinyua Mugo, who has failed twice in his runs for Manyatta MP,is expected to bring in Manyatta votes as deputy governor.
Analyst Alex Njogu said Kinyua Mugo has an upper hand in courting Manyatta voters because he has been there before in 2017 and during the UDA party nominations in 2022.
He said Kivuti's Joseph Nyaga is viewed as a corporate partner who seems to help in uniting the corporate sector, which is a crucial in Kivuti's campaign.
(Edited by V. Graham)
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