Mandera North constituency is one of the areas experiencing high-voltage political duels after the collapse of negotiated democracy in Mandera County.
The Degodia and the Garre clans are dominant in Mandera North, but pockets of the Corner tribe are also found here, especially along the River Daua.
Five candidates are gunning for the seat held by Mr Bashir Abdullahi, a retired military major. The constituency has 45,298 registered voters.
Others in the race are Mr Mohamed Bardad (Jubilee), Dr Ali Abdi Mohamed (PNU), Mr Hussein Abshiro (ODM) and Mr Isack Adow Mohamed (Umoja Party).
As political campaigns enter the homestretch, pundits in Mandera blame the fall of negotiated democracy for the crowded competition.
“We have a crowded competition at the constituency level because the clan elders who played the role of vetting and endorsing suitable candidates are no longer viable,” Mr Issack Adan said.
Elders, who had pushed for negotiated democracy since 2013, were dealt a blow in the 2017 elections by Governor Ali Roba, who defied their plans and trounced a candidate they had fronted.
In Mandera North, clan politics is at play as the Degodia present at least three candidates, while the Garre fronted two.
Mr Abdullahi, the incumbent, Mr Bardad and Dr Ali Mohamed are all from the Degodia clan, while Mr Abshiro and Mr Adow are from the Garre.
“Despite the fall of negotiated democracy, clans still play a major role in the elections and whoever wins their hearts becomes the winner,” Mr Adan said.
Sub-clan votes
Among the Degodia, the three candidates are fighting to retain their respective sub-clan votes as a block as they rally the Garre community to support them.
Dr Mohamed, from the Masare sub-clan of the larger Degodia, is confident he will trounce his competitors.
“I was prevailed upon in 2017 by my clan elders to let the incumbent represent the constituency, with the pledge that I will be supported this year,” Dr Mohamed said.
He said politics should be issue-based and not clan-based, as things always turn out to be in Mandera.
He said he has done a lot in his private capacity for the constituency and that it was time for him to serve.
“I was not in office but I managed to lobby for Ashabito to be elevated to a sub-county … and I am paying fees for over 10 medical students from poor backgrounds in this constituency in different colleges and universities,” he said.
Given the opportunity, he said, he would work on uniting different clans.
“Mandera North needs a peace ambassador and that virtue is in me because I enjoy the support of all the clans living in Mandera North. They have confidence in me,” he said.
He says he had funded water supply in Ola location and lobbied for and built the Guba, Farjano and Ogorweinee water pans.
“I want to improve lives through the constituency funds because with my own funds I have achieved a lot but a lot more needs to be done,” he said.
Dr Mohamed faces a challenge as he and Mr Bardad are supporting the election of Mr Adan Mohamed as Mandera governor.
The two will have to split the Garre clan votes in the middle if the Degodia clan votes as a bloc.
The incumbent, who flying the United Democratic Movement (UDM) flag, is poised to reap the Garre clan votes because he is alone in the team supporting the election of Mr Mohamed Adan Khalif as governor and Governor Roba as senator.
“If both Governor Roba and Mr Khalif convince their clan (Garre) to vote as a bloc, then the incumbent will get more votes from this clan than his own Degodia clan,” said Mr Abdi Hassan, a resident.
Mr Hassan warned that the political arena in Mandera has completely changed, especially in this year’s elections, and it was difficult to predict who would win and who would lose.
“It was very easy to know a winner and a loser when negotiated democracy applied, but things have since changed in Mandera. Every clan is well represented in all the four groups pushing to get the top county seat,” he said.
The presence of the other two candidates from the Garre clan in the parliamentary race complicates matters for Mr Abdullahi, the incumbent.
Complicate matters
“The Garre voted for Mr Abdullahi in 2017 but today they have their candidates and this will complicate matters for him,” Mr Yakub Adan said.
Mr Adan warned that it will be difficult for any clan or sub-clan to vote as a bloc across Mandera County because the governor candidates are from the majority clan or have picked running mates from the second most populous clans.
Dr Mohamed blamed the incumbent for sleeping on his job and leaving the constituency underdeveloped.
Mr Abdullahi is riding on his track record for the past five years and cites uniting the Garre and Degodia clans in the constituency as his major achievement.
“The current MP has helped in peace building and infrastructure development in our schools but our politics are different. We don’t really look at what someone has done but what clan should be given the opportunity. He has a chance to convince the voters,” Mr Ali Osman said. BY DAILY NATION