ODM candidate Abdulswamad Sharrif Nassir was on Tuesday, August 30 declared the governor-elect for Mombasa County.
Abdulswamad garnered 119,083 votes, flooring the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) candidate Hassan Omar Hassan who got 98,105votes.
He was elected alongside his running mate, Francis Thoya, and will succeed outgoing boss Hassan Ali Joho who served for two terms since 2013.
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Mombasa County Returning Officer Swalah Yusuf presented the candidate with his certificate at the county tallying centre.
The race also attracted the outgoing Mombasa Deputy Governor William Kingi of PAA, former Nyali MP Hezron Awiti (VDP) and independent candidate Daniel Kitsao.
Upia's Shafii Makazi and Usawa Kwa Wote Said Abdhalla were also seeking to succeed Joho.
The poll was marred with claims and counter-accusations of alleged voter manipulation by the Azimio and Kenya Kwanza brigades.
Abdulswamad took to the streets of Mombasa to celebrate his election. He was joined by Joho other politicians elected under ODM and Azimio.
Notably, the election registered a low voter turn out in a county 641,913 registered voters, according to official figures by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission.
The incoming county governor is not a new in politics. He is the outgoing Member of Parliament (MP) for Mvita constituency, where he was first elected in 2013.
In the National Assembly, he served in the Departmental Committee on Finance, Planning and Trade as well as Public Investments Committee.
Nassir follows in the footsteps of his father Shariff Nassir, who was a powerful Cabinet Minister in the government of Kenya's second President, the late Daniel Torotich Arap Moi.
