President William Ruto and Azimio leader Raila Odinga are now bracing for a political showdown after Magarini MP Harrison Kombe's election was nullified.

The Malindi High Court ordered a by-election in Magarini, one of the seven constituencies in Kilifi county, citing massive irregularities in the August 9 general election.

The speaker of the National Assembly Moses Wetang'ula will declare the seat vacant and a by-election held in 90 days.

This will happen if Kombe fails to move to the Court of Appeal or his petition flops.

The looming by-election in Klifi county will now renew and escalate the political war between President Ruto and Raila.

Ruto would be using the by-election to test his popularity in the region, especially after he picked former county governor Amason Kingi as the Senate Speaker.

Kingi, the leader of the Pamoja African Alliance party, was Raila's key ally in the region when he served for two terms as Kilifi governor.

Kingi served as Magarini MP between 2007 and 2013 when he was elected the first governor of Kilifi county.

The by-election will also serve as a big test for Public Service Cabinet Secretary Aisha Jumwa.

She was appointed to the position after losing to ODM's Gideon Mung'aro in the Kilifi governor's race.

With the two top government officials, Ruto will be flexing his political muscles in the region through either the PAA party or his own United Democratic Alliance outfit.

On the other hand, Raila will be banking on Mung'aro to deliver the seat to ODM and also affirm his popularity as the de facto king of coast politics.

However, lately Mung'aro had been warming up to Ruto, tipping ODM for a bruising political battle against the President's possible candidate in Magarini.

Last week, Nyali MP Mohamed Ali claimed that Ruto's popularity in the Coast region had risen from 26 per cent to over 40 per cent in the last election.

He projected that by 2027, Ruto's following in the region would be more than 60 per cent.

With Ruto and Raila expected to lock horns in Malindi, all eyes will be on former Mombasa governor Hassan Joho who has been missing in action in recent months.

Joho, Raila's deputy in ODM leadership, was a key cog of the Azimio campaigns in the last polls but appears to have stepped back as he has not attended the ongoing public barazas.

The mini-poll will come at a time when Raila has escalated his campaign against Ruto, whom he has accused of being in office illegitimately.

The opposition leader has called for mass action from next week insisting that President Ruto must vacate State House.

The by-election will evoke memories of the Msambweni mini-poll in December 2020, when Ruto's backed independent candidate Feisal Bader beat Raila's choice.

Then Ruto had fallen out with his former boss Uhuru Kenyatta, who was working with Raila under the handshake arrangement.

Raila and Uhuru were supporting the ODM candidate Omar Boga.