The biggest winners of Kenya polls

What you need to know:

The unintended consequence of the 2010 Constitution is that the electoral contest for the presidency diminishes the value of the prize.
In effect, it is a state remaking project.
The winner is not who goes to State House in Kilimani but the governor’s mansion in a county upcountry

If the counties are rising, one has to wonder why this time there was less drama about the election of governors than there was in 2013 and 2017. For starters, it seems because it marked the end of the two terms of a record 21 of the 47 governors. Without that many incumbents, the contests have been less visceral. Secondly, and related to that, the prestige of a sitting county governor – especially one who does a good job – seems to be so high that it simply is a bridge too far for rivals to unseat them. After the first generation of governors who ushered in the system, Kenya is likely going into a phase where most sitting governors, if they can avoid the troubles that dog the Nairobi and Kiambu office holders, can expect to see out their two terms without being ousted by a pretender to the throne.

The biggest winners of Kenya polls

What you need to know:

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