Kwale governor hopeful Issa Chipera at a past media briefing. [Photo/ ebru.co.ke]
The race for the Kwale governor seat is continuing to gain momentum with ODM candidate Issa Chipera insisting that he will not back down in his quest to unseat Governor Salim Mvurya.
Chipera’s sentiments come at a time when NASA presidential candidate Raila Odinga and his running mate Kalonzo Musyoka are cracking a winning formula to wrestle the seat from Mvurya who ditched ODM for Jubilee.Reports in a section of media indicate that Raila and Kalonzo had met with Wiper candidate Chirau Mwakwere and Dr Chipera in a bid to convince one to drop his bid and support the other, in order to deny Mvurya a chance to retain the seat.Speaking on Saturday when they toured Ukunda, Raila and Kalonzo said there is need for NASA to front one candidate in the race.“We want to sit with both Mwakwere and Chipera and decide on who should face Mvurya,” said Raila.“We are looking at how we will talk to the two governor candidates so we can field only one to defeat Mvurya,” added Kalonzo as quoted by the Standard.However, Dr Chipera has stated that he will not drop his bid in favour of Mwakwere.Speaking on Wednesday, Chipera said he is confident of winning the seat, adding that any suggestion for him to step down for Mwakwere is far-fetched.He argued he is the only gubernatorial aspirant in the county who was subjected to a nomination exercise while his rivals were issued with direct tickets.While accusing Mwakwere of using underhand tactics to see him out of the race, Chipera said the former ambassador has sensed defeat and is using every means possible to save his ‘dwindling’ political fortunes.Chipera’s announcement will no doubt excite Mvurya and his followers as analysts predict a divided opposition will gift him a second term in office.