Siaya Governor Cornel Rasanga's re-election bid has received a major boost after former powerful Gem MP Joe Donde endorsed his candidature.
The former lawmaker who is also the Siaya County Public Service Board chairman asked Gem MP Jakoyo Midiwo and his Rarieda counterpart Nicholas Gumbo who have declared his interest to challenge the incumbent in the August polls to back the Governor's re-election.
According to Donde who lost to Midiwo in the 2002 general elections, he played a crucial role to ensure both Gumbo and Midiwo defended their seats in the last general elections at a time when they had problems with the electorate.
"Midiwo had a problem with the electorate when we were campaigning for Rasanga, but we made sure he was re-elected," Donde said in a function at Gem constituency.
Midiwo who is serving his third term in Parliament has been a fierce critic of Rasanga who he accuses of mismanaging county resources and has vowed to ensure he is not re-elected come August 8.
Rasanga's 2013 rival William Oduol is back in the race and together with Gumbo, they have pledged to support whoever wins the ODM party ticket in the race to deny the incumbent a second term in office.