Suleiman Shahbal steps down for Abdulswamad Sharrif in Mombasa gubernatorial race

Mvita Member of Parliament Abdulswamad Shariff Nassir was handed a direct nomination to be the Orange Democratic Movement’s (ODM) gubernatorial flagbearer in the August 9 election.

Abdulswamad’s fierce rival Suleiman Shahbal sacrificed his bid for the Mombasa top seat, stepping down for the Mvita MP following negotiations led by ODM party leader Raila Odinga.

Businessman Shahbal during the announcement promised to offer his full support to Abdulswamad and liaise with him to bring a positive impact to the coastal county.

“I have been aspiring to be Mombasa governor for the last 10 years. But the objective of becoming governor was not for Suleiman Shahbal but to bring change and development to the people of Mombasa. The objective was to bring change and development to the people of Mombasa,” he said.

Shahbal, who was making a second attempt at the governor election added: “I believe that all those people who worked with me were hoping that we will make positive change in Mombasa. Today we have decided to work with Abdulswamad and we will work with him. I am 100 per cent for the future changes that we need to bring to Mombasa.”

The Mvita MP took the opportunity to thank Shahbal for shelving his personal interest for the greater good of Mombasa county. He noted that they would work hand with him to ensure developmental changes occur.

Abdulswamad also said during the press that he wanted to thank his ODM party leaders and brother Suleiman for agreeing to work together. Shahbal had been a worthy competitor and they have agreed that they will work together so that they accomplish their vision.

The ODM party on their part said that their party leader Raila Odinga lauds Shahbal for stepping down in support of the legislator and terms the decision as being brave and loyal to the party.

Incumbent governor Joho affirmed that both the two aspirants were keen on bettering the county but it was important that they had settled on one of them.

“Suleiman Shahbal is a worthy gubernatorial candidate but he made the decision to support Abdulswamad Shariff Nassir. We want to thank him. We will now merge our teams to form a great ODM team that will ensure the party carries all seats in Mombasa County,” Joho noted.

The gubernatorial race now has three top candidates: Mvita MP Abdulswamad, UDA’s Hassan Omar, and Wiper’s Kisauni MP Ali Mbogo.