Malik Obama finishes 140,000 votes behind winner in bid to become governor of Siaya in nationwide polls
No he can't. The half-brother of Barack Obama found that sharing a surname with the world's most powerful man was not enough to avoid a trouncing in Kenya's elections.
Malik Obama notched a meagre 2,792 votes in the race to be governor of Siaya, his home county in the west of the country. He finished about 140,000 behind the winner.
Malik Obama, 54, had promised change that, in the end, not enough people believed in. It was a manifesto that included reducing poverty, building infrastructure, industrialising and bringing American chains such as McDonald's to his neglected rural area.
The defeated candidate, who stands 1.95 metres (6ft 4ins) tall, was born to the same Kenyan father as the US president but a different mother. Campaigning under the slogan "Obama here, Obama there", he claimed that as governor he would have a "direct line to the White House".
But running as an independent, he was up against candidates from established parties and apparently lacked resources to compete.
"I'm going into it as Malik Obama," he told Associated Press before last week's polls. "I can't run away from my name and association with my brother, but I have the feeling that people somewhat want to see who the brother of Obama is."
It might not have been Grant Park, Chicago, in 2008, but local officials tried to be upbeat about his election performance. Benson Mughatsia, returning officer for Siaya county, said: "He was not the winner but at least he competed. He was not last but he was still a long way off."
Contacted by the Guardian on Monday, Malik Obama said only: "I'm sorry I'm not speaking to any journalists today, thank you." He then hung up.
Obama, who describes himself as a financial adviser, was contesting a newly created position. Kenya's 2010 constitution created 47 political divisions known as counties, to be headed by governors.
This is not the end of his political ambitions, as he may yet seek to emulate his younger half-brother by running for president. He told Britain's Mail on Sunday newspaper that Barack had been encouraging: "Back in 2011, when I told him about my plans, he said to go for it. His only advice was that I should be honest, sincere – and to have a thick skin."
Malik Obama, a Muslim, also told the paper that he and Barack were best man at each other's weddings and remain in regular contact; he has lived in Washington since 1985 and divides his time between there and Kenya. "I see my brother privately at least once a year, when I go to visit him in the White House and say hello."
Barack Obama has several relatives in Kenya including his 90-year-old step-grandmother, Mama Sarah, who greeted his victory in last year's presidential election by saying: "It is God's plan and, most of all, he is an outstanding gentleman."
via The Guardian World News http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/mar/11/barack-obama-half-brother-malik-kenyan-elections
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