Lunga Lunga MP Khatib Mwashetani of UDA party has lost his seat to newcomer Mangale Chiforomodo of United Democratic Movement (UDM) which is affiliated to Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition.
Chiforomodo garnered 15,267 votes against the incumbent Mwashetani who polled 9,585 votes while Murabu Chaka of ODM party polled 702 votes.
Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Constituency Returning Officer Raymond Makazi declared him the winner and issued a certificate to Chiforomodo.
Mwashetani failed to retain the seat that he has held for two terms, having been elected for the first time in 2013 on a Ford-Kenya party ticket and reelected in the 2017 general election on a Jubilee party ticket.
Ten parliamentary candidates were in the race to dislodge Mwashetani in the just concluded 2022 general elections. The poll area in Kwale County was created in 2013 after being hived off from the larger Msambweni constituency.
According to the IEBC statistics the constituency has 64,854 eligible registered voters spread in Pongwe, Dzombo, Mwereni and Vanga electoral wards. The outgoing MP refused to acknowledge the electoral outcome and promised to go to court to seek redress citing poll irregularities.
In his brief acceptance speech Chiforomodo thanked constituents for believing in him and electing him as their next representative in the national assembly. The MP-elect said the campaigns and elections were now over and it was time for ‘reality check and work for the people’.
Chiforomodo, a former Kwale County Executive for Education said he will prioritize citizens’ participation in development issues.
“With the help of my constituents I will strive to transform Lungalunga from its current state of underdevelopment and bring change through education,” he said.
By Hussein Abdullahi
