[Wajir governor Ahmed Abdullahi (R) during an opposition rally in Wajir town recently. He is with (L-R) Musalia Mudavadi, Kalonzo Musyoka and Raila Odinga.] the-star.co.keJubilee Party’s Wajir County gubernatorial nominee Mohamed Mohamud has picked his running mate, setting stage for a bruising battle between the ruling party and the opposition NASA.
Mohamed picked Ahmed Mukhtar as his deputy and expressed confidence JP will win the August 8 poll in the far-flung county.
Mukhtar, 32, was unveiled at a Nairobi hotel on Wednesday as deputy to the man who was Kenya’s envoy to Saudi Arabia in the poll race.
He is from Wajir South and comes from the Zubeir sub clan.
He contested for the Wajir South parliamentary seat in 2013 but lost to Abdullahi Diriye.
The Jubilee line up will now faceoff with Governor Abdullahi who recently picked Ahmed Nunow as his deputy after falling out with his former number two, Abdihafid Yarrow in March.
Clan politics and choice of running mates in Northern Kenya play a pivotal role in determining one’s success in elections.
Others in the race to unseat Governor Abdullahi include Ahmed Muhumed contesting on the Party for Development and Reforms ticket and Salah Abdi (Third Way Alliance Party).
Abdullahi is under pressure to ensure the opposition controls the county where key politicians have defected from the opposition and joined Jubilee.