The Azimio la Umoja coalition in Kisii faces fierce competition from the Kenya Kwanza team as the rival camps intensify campaigns for votes in the region.
Azimio has fielded four aspirants for the governorship and other top county positions against Kenya Kwanza, which has only one aspirant for each of the elective seats.
While Azimio supporters and some leaders are busy trying to out-do one another, Kenya Kwanza has hit the ground running with a serious campaign strategy that is slowly gaining support from residents.
Though the Kisii region is pro-Azimio, the massive campaign by the Kenya Kwanza is slowly gaining ground, threatening Raila Odinga's popularity in the region.
The Azimio team has outgoing Dagoretti North MP Simba Arati (ODM), outgoing Kisii Senator Sam Ongeri (DAP-K), former Transport chief administrative secretary Chris Obure (Jubilee) and KNC party leader Manson Nyamweya as the governorship aspirants.
“Yes, I agree that the nomination exercise has drained us. But this is expected in any party which attracts a lot of competition. We have concentrated on settling on aspirants in our lineup and have had little time to campaign,” said Mr Arati, the leading aspirant in the Azimio team, according to a survey conducted by Orange House.
He added: “We are back on the ground and we will undo the little perceived gains by Kenya Kwanza. We will focus on our agenda to the electorate and on garnering support for our leader Raila Odinga.”
Instead of some county leaders in ODM joining hands with him to expand Mr Odinga’s support base, he lamented, they have become his greatest detractors and have in the last two weeks mounted a serious campaign against him through well-planned propaganda messages.
“But we will keep fighting politically. We will not lose our focus. We are prepared for this,” said Mr Arati, adding that the nomination issue will have settled by the end of this week and they will go to the ground.
Mr Machogu, on the other side, has been campaigning with his deputy Ogamba Migosi and senatorial aspirant Joash Maangi.
“People are responding well to our campaign message. The electorate in Kisii are intelligent enough and are able to analyse various manifestos being propagated by various parties,” said Mr Machogu, adding that Kenya Kwanza’s “bottom-up” economic approach is resonating well with voters.
He added that they are focused on their agenda for the electorate, noting that Kisii residents know they want performing leaders who will help them alleviate their economic suffering.
Prof Ongeri said he was on the ground, noting that the nominations had consumed much of their time in the last three weeks but were a necessary step for political parties.
“When the dust settles on the nominations exercise this week, we will hit the ground running. However, we have been doing a lot on the ground quietly,” he said.
“I assure that the Kenya Kwanza team will have nothing to hold on to in Kisii, because we have (voters) with us and we are coming to give them assurance that we have their back.”
Mr Nyamweya said he had been working to popularise Azimio in Kisii and that Mr Odinga is set to win the August presidential election.
