An aerial view of Lamu County. [Photo/ investinkenya.co.ke]
Lamu County is known for its unpredictable voting patterns and if the outcome of the past two general elections is anything to go by, then the 2017 one will not be any different.
Inhabited mainly by two communities namely the Kikuyu and the native Bajuni, the battle for Lamu votes by the leading political formations will not be a walk in the park considering that party politics means nothing here.In the 2013 elections, Issa Timamy who was vying on a UDF party ticket clinched the governor position.With Eric Mugo, a Kikuyu, as his running mate, he managed to get a good number of votes from the community which primarily lives in Mpeketoni.On the other hand, Abu Chiaba of URP pulled a surprise as he won the Senate seat by a razor-thin margin having been ruled out by many due to his dismal development record during his tenure as Lamu East MP.As for the Women Representative seat, Shackilla Abdalla of Wiper easily edged out her opponents to win the race.Lamu West MP Julius Ndegwa was elected on little-known Kenya National Congress Party (KNC) while his Lamu East counterpart clinched the seat on a UDF ticket. With 2017 elections providing a new game altogether, the real battle is in the gubernatorial race with incumbent Timamy who is defending his seat on an ANC ticket having to face off with Jubilee’s Fahim Twaha who is seen as his closest contender.Only Shackilla Abdalla has an upper hand to easily defend her seat among all the incumbents.In the 2013 Presidential votes, Raila Odinga edged his bitter rival Uhuru Kenyatta by slightly over 9,000 votes.As to whether the political script will be rewritten this time round amid Jubilee’s constant forays in the region remains to be seen.