Aden Duale defies elders, retains Garissa seat

Defying elders and winning:" Aden Duale. [Standard Achives]

From Garissa reports that former Leader of Majority in the National Assembly Aden Duale has retained his Garissa Township parliamentary seat.

Duale will serve his fourth term in Parliament after garnering 9,905 votes against his closest challenger Abdi Nasir Dolal of ODM who got 5,972. Abdullahi Gabane of UPIA got 5,552, while Hassan Ali of Kanu managed 2,406.

Siyat Osman, who was in November last year endorsed by his Awdhaq Council of Elders came a distant fourth with 894 votes.

The elders, as part of negotiated democracy and in a bid to have the seven sub-clans share the county and national seats, picked Osman instead of Duale. They both come from the same clan.

Duale scoffed at the elders, saying he had no time for clan endorsements and that the over 50,000 voters in Garissa Township would 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.

Speaking outside the Garissa University tallying centre moments after being declared winner, Duale thanked the electorate for having confidence in him and re-electing him.

"I want to sincerely thank the great people of Garissa for standing with me and supporting me since I joined politics. Your unwavering support is what has made me an MP since 2007," he said.