Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho and Jubilee governor candidate Suleiman Shahbal during the Eid al Firt celebrations. [Photo: Hassan Joho/ facebook.com]
With 580,223 votes at stake, the Mombasa governor seat is one of the most hotly-contested races in the country.
The two main rivals for the seat are ODM's Hassan Joho who is the incumbent, and Jubilee candidate Suleiman Shahbal who lost to Joho in 2013.However, Wiper's Senator Hassan Omar and Nyali MP Hezron Awiti cannot be ignored.According to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) figures, Kisauni constituency which is home to Joho is leading in terms of registered voters with 126,151 residents enlisted to vote during the August 8 polls.Kisauni is also home to Suleiman Shahbal's running mate Ananiah Mwaboza and Senator Omar.With 107,091 voters enlisted by the poll body, Mvita constituency is second in terms of population and Jubilee Party enjoys a significant following here.Nyali constituency which was hived off the giant Kisauni has 104, 017 votes up for grabs.Nyali is home to Hezron Awiti who is vying for the top county position on a Vibrant Democratic Party ticket.Likoni constituency, which is home to ODM rebel MP Masoud Mwahima has 87,326 registered voters. Already, five candidates are keen to unseat the incumbent who has since joined Jubilee. Changamwe constituency has 86,331 voters while Jomvu which was hived off Changamwe has 69,307 registered voters.Changamwe, Likoni and Jomvu are widely considered swing constituencies and they may have a bearing in Mombasa politics.