A former MP has backed calls by a section of leaders from Coast that the region forms a political party that will unite the zone ahead of the  2022 general election.

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Gunga Mwinga (former Kaloleni MP) said on Friday it's high time the region that is rich in tourism forms a party that it will use to bargain for power during the 2022 general polls.

"Coast region will have a bargaining advantage in the next general election if it forms a political party that will unite the people," he said.

"Without unity we will continue to be treated as second class citizens headed no where."

The former lawmaker spoke only three days after Kilifi Governor Amason Kingi said on February 6 that Coast region will go it alone in the 2022 General Election.

Speaking on Sunday during the homecoming party for new Mombasa ACK Bishop Alphonce Baya in Kilifi North, Kingi said discussions on the new party had begun adding that most of the problems affecting residents can only be addressed if the region formed its own political party.

"In 2022, we will not join any party. We'll build our own house with enough bedrooms to accommodate all of us. Borrowing from others has brought us many problems," Kingi said.

Kingi is among Coast leaders who have been vocal on calls for secession of the region.