Mvita MP Abdulswamad Sharrif Nassir at a past event. [Photo: Abdulswamad Nassir/ facebook.com]
With only two months remaining to the August 8 elections, the race for the Mvita MP seat is shaping up into a two-horse race pitting incumbent Abdulswamad Sharif Nassir of ODM and Omar Shallo of Jubilee Party.
For Shallo, his political journey looked doubtful two weeks ago amid drama over his nomination certificate. However, Jubilee came to his rescue declaring him the man to fly the party''s flag in the constituency.However, for him, it will be a monumental task for him to dislodge the incumbent, the son of the former powerful and Moi era politician Sharif Nassir who represented the constituency for three uninterrupted terms since the constituency was formed in 1988.Riding on his father’s political name, Abdulswamad garnered 34,491 votes in 2013 elections against former nominated MP Sheikh Dor, a formidable political force, who came a distant second with 10,425 votes. And if he plays his cards well in 2017, he will win a second term in office.Shallo’s biggest headache is to fight the ODM wave that is sweeping across the county which further complicates his political arithmetic.As for Abdulswamad, his closeness to Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho, the county’s political kingpin, makes his re-election path even smoother.In terms of development, the incumbent has a good track record. And through the Sharif Nassir Foundation, he has paid school fees for students from needy backgrounds.