Former Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko has congratulated Abdulswamad Sharrif Nassir for leading in the provisional results for the Mombasa gubernatorial race.

Taking to his social media, Sonko congratulated Nassir as he expressed gratitude toward the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) supporters for voting for their candidate Hassan Omar Sarai.

“Congratulations, Abdulswamad Sharrif Nassir, for your win as the second Governor of Mombasa. We live to fight another day. I’d also like to thank all our supporters for believing in us and voting for our candidate Hassan Omar Sarai. Despite the loss, let’s remain strong and even more united as we shall always be there for every one of you, even those who never voted for us,

“I shall continue to support you all in my little capacity and that of my Sonko Rescue team. God bless the great people of Mombasa, God bless Kenya,” he wrote.

Congratulations Abdulswamad Sharrif Nassir for your win as the second Governor of Mombasa we live to fight another day. l’d also like to thank all our supporters for believing in us and voted for our candidate Hassan Omar Sarai, despite the loss let’s remain strong and even…

— Mike Sonko (@MikeSonko) August 30, 2022

In provisional results released by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), Nassir is ahead of his primary challenger Omar Sarai.

When this article was published, Nassir was ahead with 119,083 votes, while Omar had 98,108 votes.

In the race, seven candidates are contesting the seat. They include Nassir (ODM), Hassan Omar (UDA), Hezron Awiti (VDP), William Kingi (PAA), Daniel Kitsao (Independent), Shafii Makazi (Upia), and Said Abdhalla (Usawa).