Garissa Township MP Aden Duale retained his seat after garnering 9,905 votes against his closest rival Abdi Nasir Dolal of ODM who got 5,972.
Others in the race were Abdullahi Gabane of UPIA garnered 5,552, KANU’s Hassan Ali 2,406 and Siyat Osman (Jubilee) 952.
Duale will be serving his fourth consecutive term and interestingly, he has never been re-elected on the same party since 2007 when he started in ODM, moved to URP in 2013, Jubilee in 2017 and now on a UDA ticket.
Speaking outside the Garissa University tallying center moments after being declared winner by the returning officer Abdi Yunis, Duale who now becomes the longest serving MP in Northern Kenya thanked the electorates for having confidence in him and re-electing him into office once again.
“I want to sincerely thank the great people of Garissa for standing with me and supporting me since I joined politics and walked the journey with me, your unwavering support is what has made me an MP since 2007,” Duale said.
“I also want to thank my family, my wife, children, immediate family members, and the Kenya Kwanza fraternity. I will serve all those who voted for me and those who didn’t because from today I am your member of parliament,” he added.
Duale thanked the IEBC and all the other stakeholders who participated in conducting the election describing it as free and fair.
Duale, ran against his Awdhaq clan wishes who had in November last year endorsed Siyat Osman who came a distant forth managing to get a paltry 894.
Duale scoffed at the elders saying that he has no time for clan endorsement noting that the over 50,000 voters in Garissa Township will elect their MP ‘and not a few clan elders’.
Negotiated democracy remains common in Northeastern with clan elders playing a crucial role in picking those to contest for various seats giving them higher chances of winning.
For one to defy the clan elders and go ahead to win then one must be a very strong candidate on the ground.
By Erick Kyalo
