With less than a week remaining, Orange Democratic Movement(ODM) party Secretary-General(SG) Edwin Sifuna has been pitching the tent in Ganda ward to campaign for the Orange candidate Reuben Katana.
The SG has been leading political rallies and town hall meetings in the as the campaigns near homestretch.
On Monday, Sifuna together with ODM’s nominated Senator Dr Agness Zani crisscrossed the ward to woo voters ahead of the Thursday by-election.
The Orange party is seeking to reclaim the seat in order to ostensibly illustrate its dominance in the region.
One thing about the good people of Ganda Ward in Malindi is that they know ODM as their party. They believe in its ideology and principles. And they know that come Thursday this week, the man they will send to the County Assembly of Kilifi is one Rueben Mwamure Katana. pic.twitter.com/eY3JdCX9ir
— The ODM Party (@TheODMparty) October 14, 2019
On the other hand, ODM rebel MP Aisha Jumwa has been hitting the ground too to campaign for the Independent candidate Omar Mohamed.
Omar was the Orange Party candidate in 2017 election and was declared the winner but the court nullified his victory after a successful petition was filed in the corridors of justice.
Omar, however, did not seek his Orange party ticket but defected to being an Independent Candidate reportedly heeding to Jumwa’s advice.
The Malindi MP has been leading the campaign rallies of Omar in the ward wooing voters against her party ‘s candidate.
Unconfirmed reports indicate that Jumwa had sworn to teach the Orange party a lesson in the by-election for attempting to oust her over associating with the Deputy President William Ruto.
Jumwa, who has already declared interest in the Kilifi County gubernatorial race, said Malindi was no longer a stronghold of the ODM party.
Recently the Orange Party suffered a blow after one of its key supporters defected to Jumwa’s camp.
Erastus Katana, a former councillor in the defunct Malindi Municipal Council, shifted his allegiance to the independent candidate.
Other candidates in the race include Jubilee Party’s Joseph Kiponda and Kadu Asili’s David Mitsanze.