President Uhuru Kenyatta and NASA presidential flag bearer Raila Odinga at a past event. The President has closed in on Raila in the race for Coast region votes. [Photo/ capitalfm.co.ke]
The race for the over 1.7 million votes in the Coast region will go to the wire with President Uhuru Kenyatta making an upward surge to close in on NASA presidential flag bearer Raila Odinga according to the latest poll survey.
The poll which was released on Sunday by research firm Centre for African Progress (CAP) shows Raila would garner 50 per cent of the votes with his main rival President Kenyatta following closely with 44 per cent.This may not be good news for Raila who garnered majority of the votes in the region during the 2013 elections.With over 650,000 votes in the six coastal counties during the last poll, Raila stamped his authority in the region's politics which he has dominated since 2007.On the other hand, Uhuru garnered slightly over 150,000 votes. However, the President is keen to make amends to his not-so-good performance in 2013.Uhuru has shown an insatiable appetite to make inroads in the region and to do that, he has poached key members of the Raila camp to springboard his ambitious political move.Notable political figures in the region who have dumped the former Prime Minister for President Uhuru Kenyatta include: Kwale Governor Salim Mvurya, Taita Taveta Senator Dan Mwazo and Kilifi North MP Gideon Mung'aro.