UDA, ODM plot 2027 campaign plan as Ruto hosts 1,500 Nairobi delegates

What you need to know:

• The meeting brought together elected leaders, grassroots mobilisers and aspirants from the two political formations.
• Both parties are keen to translate their cooperation at the national level into electoral gains in Nairobi.

President William Ruto has stepped up efforts to consolidate the broad-based political partnership in Nairobi, hosting about 1,500 grassroots leaders and political aspirants drawn from the ruling United Democratic Alliance (UDA) and Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) as the two parties begin laying the groundwork for the 2027 General Election.

The meeting at State House, Nairobi, brought together elected leaders, grassroots mobilisers and aspirants from the two political formations in what is emerging as an early attempt to harmonise their political structures, coordinate campaigns and establish a joint strategy for capturing the capital.

The engagement, which began at 9am, comes at a critical moment for the two parties following a series of political realignments that have reshaped the contest for Nairobi's gubernatorial seat.

Both parties are keen to translate their cooperation at the national level into electoral gains in Nairobi, a cosmopolitan county whose voting patterns have historically been difficult for any single political formation to control.

During the meeting, President Ruto was accompanied by ODM National Chairperson Gladys Wanga and National Assembly Minority Leader Junet Mohamed, among other senior political figures.

The President challenged the leaders to combine their political networks and grassroots structures to ensure the partnership delivers victory in the capital, with particular emphasis on strengthening mobilisation down to polling-station level.

The strategy is expected to involve pooling together the two parties' existing political networks, identifying areas of strength and weaknesses and coordinating activities ahead of the election.

UDA and ODM are banking on their combined political influence, organisational structures and networks to challenge any possible opposition's efforts to win the city’s 2,743,155 votes, where the two parties have traditionally competed against each other.

In a statement following the meeting, UDA expressed confidence that the partnership would deliver a decisive victory in Nairobi City County in 2027.

The ruling party linked the political cooperation to what it described as an Sh80 billion cooperation package and the national government's development record in the capital.

It cited the Nairobi Rivers Regeneration and Engineering Works Programme, the New Gikomba Market and the Kamukunji Community Works Programme as some of the projects through which the administration intends to consolidate its support among city residents.

President Ruto also addressed the delegates, signaling an intensification of political activities in Nairobi as the two parties seek to build a formidable campaign machinery.

The meeting further exposed the competing ambitions within the broad-based arrangement, with the two parties introducing individuals positioning themselves for the Nairobi gubernatorial contest.

Mr Sakaja and Makadara MP George Aladwa were introduced as ODM's potential gubernatorial candidates, while Mr Karauri, who recently joined UDA, was presented as the ruling party's candidate for the same seat.

The presence of the three politicians at the meeting illustrates the complicated electoral calculations facing the broad-based partnership, particularly as the two parties consider whether to field competing candidates or negotiate a political arrangement that would see them support one candidate.

Ms Wanga said the meeting was primarily intended to align the two parties and develop a common strategy for winning Nairobi, dismissing suggestions that the discussions had already ventured into the distribution of elective positions.

She said the immediate priority was to bring together the political structures of UDA and ODM and establish a working relationship ahead of the next election.

The ODM chairperson indicated that the question of zoning would be addressed at a later stage, insisting that the parties were currently focused on reorganising their grassroots networks and building a united campaign structure.

Her remarks are significant given the growing pressure within the two political formations to negotiate how elective positions will be shared in areas where both have established political interests.

"We were aligning and strategising on how to capture Nairobi. Zoning discussions will come at a later time. For now, we are just reorganising ourselves to work together, and there is no seat we shall leave," Ms Wanga told Saturday Nation.

However, beneath the public show of unity lies a potentially explosive contest over who gets to control Nairobi's gubernatorial ticket, with Mr Sakaja's political future increasingly tied to the outcome of the zoning negotiations.

Nairobi presents one of the most difficult tests of the UDA-ODM partnership because the two parties have competing claims to the county's elective positions.

In the 2022 General Election, ODM secured the Senate seat through Edwin Sifuna and the Nairobi Woman Representative position through Esther Passaris, while UDA captured the gubernatorial seat through Mr Sakaja.

The distribution of these positions, insiders disclosed, is likely to complicate negotiations should the broad-based partners agree to zone Nairobi by party, particularly if UDA insists on retaining the governor's position on account of having won it in the last election.

Such a demand would place Mr Sakaja in an awkward political position. Having defected to ODM, the governor could find himself competing against his former party's preferred candidate for a position he currently occupies.

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