Machakos Deputy Governor Bernard Kiala. He has quit the governor's race on July 30, 2017 and pledged to support Wiper's Wavinya Ndeti. [PHOTO/the-star.co.ke]
Machakos Deputy Governor Bernard Kiala has withdrawn from the Machakos governor race.
Kiala instead said he will be supporting Wiper candidate Wavinya Ndeti who is seeking to unseat incumbent Governor Alfred Mutua.
Speaking on Sunday during his official stepping down, Kiala said the move was meant to promote a NASA win in the presidential elections.
"After much consideration and consultation with leaders in the community and our supporters I have agreed to withdraw from the race," he told the press.
"Our withdrawal is unconditional and it is also in line with the need to rebuild Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka's 2022 presidential bid, We have seen the risk of scattering NASA presidential votes in Machakos as we advance our candidacy," he added.
"We request our supporters to see the bigger picture beyond our governor candidacy for now."
The deputy governor lost the Wiper gubernatorial ticket to Ndeti after contentious preliminaries which were clouded with court battles.
He then went on to run as an independent candidate, a move that sparked tensions between Machakos senator Johnson Muthama and Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka.