It is less than 24 hours before the doors of polling stations are opened so that Kenyans can engage in the much anticipated August 9 polls.
Campaigns for the Tuesday elections officially ended on Saturday August 6. Currently, those vying can only make their final appeals to voters through social media.
Judging from how they have been campaigning, party tickets they will be vying under, opinion polls and their personalities, a number of candidates have already won these elections. Here are some of the gubernatorial candidates that will surely be announced as winners.
William Kabogo
Kabogo is seeking to make a comeback in Kiambu. He was first elected governor in 2013 before he was defeated by Ferdinand Waititu in 2017. Opinion polls have placed him ahead of Thika lawmaker Wainaina Jungle, Kiambu senator Kimani Wamatangi, incumbent James Nyoro, Moses Kuria and Mwende Gatabaki.
He will be vying under his Tujibebe Wakenya party ticket.
Johnson Sakaja
Sakaja is giving a shot at the country’s capital city county under a UDA ticket. Sakaja’s main competitor is Polycarp Igathe. Recent polls by Tifa however indicated that the senator is far much ahead of Igathe and is likely to be governor. Sakaja’s popularity stood at 53% while Igathe came second at 36%.
Abdulswamad Shariff
The ODM MP is seeking to succeed Ali Hassan Joho. His main competitor was Mike Sonko but the former Nairobi governor’s ambitions were thwarted by the court’s decision. Sonko surrendered and instead decided to back UDA’s Hassan Omar.
The move by Sonko to concede defeat of being on the ballot gave Shariff an upper hand since Omar’s popularity stands below 10%.
Anyang’ Nyong’
Nyong’o won Kisumu gubernatorial seat in 2017 and is seeking a second and final term. Infotrack indicated that he is leading the race with 70%. His predecessor Jack Ranguma comes second with 15%
George Natembeya.
Natembeya is a newcomer in politics field and is seeking the Trans Nzoia gubernatorial seat under DAP-Kenya ticket.
The former county commissioner has proved to be the most popular candidate and polls in Mid July placed his popularity at 56%.
Gladys Wanga
Wanga will likely defeat Evans Kidero in the Homa Bay county race because she has full support of ODM, the dominant party in the county and that of Raila Odinga.
Mithika Linturi
The Meru senator is seeking the county’s top seat under UDA ticket and polls by Mizani Africa early this month showed that he was leading the race. Linturi’s popularity stood at 37. 6, Kawira Mwangaza came second with 30.2 percent. while the incumbent Kiraitu Murungi was number 3 at 27.8%.
Susan Kihika
Kihika is likely to send Nakuru governor Lee Kinyanjui, who is vying on a Jubilee ticket, home.
On August 1, Kihika, a close ally of DP William Ruto, was leading with 59.2%. Kinyanjui followed her distantly with 36.3%.
Simba Arati
The Dagoretti North MP is the most popular candidate for Kisii gubernatorial seat. He is vying on an ODM ticket. His UDA opponent Nyaribari Masaba MP Ezekiel Machogu comes second while the current senator Sam Ongeri comes third.
Stephen Sang
He is the sitting governor of Nandi county and will be defending his seat on a UDA ticket. Sang is leading the race with over 50%. The county’s former governor Cleophas Lagata follows him at 30%. Lagat is vying on an independent ticket.
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