Africa-Press – Kenya. President William Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance (UDA) and the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) are planning to formally sign a pre-election coalition in 2026.
The two parties, through their party leaderships, have informally agreed to draft a coalition agreement in which ODM will support Ruto’s 2027 re-election bid.
ODM has to, however, exit the current Azimio La Umoja Coalition with other parties such as Kalonzo Musyoka’s Wiper and Eugene Wamalwa-led DAPK, which they entered into prior to the 2022 elections.
The Constitution of Kenya and the Political Parties Act allow parties to form a pre-election or post election coalitions; binding agreements that have to be deposited with the Registrar of Political Parties.
The issue was deliberated and agreed upon on Saturday at a meeting held at President Ruto’s Kilgoris home, in Narok county.
The President had hosted the top ODM leadership for lunch before departing to Migori to grace the Junet Mohamed saucer tournament in Suna East.
At the Kilgoris home, ODM party leaders and Cabinet Secretaries were present.
They include party leader Oburu Oginga, his deputy who is also Mombasa Governor Abdulswamad Sharrif Nassir, party chair and Homa Bay Governor Gladys Wanga and Junet who serves as the Minority Leader in the National Assembly.
ODM ministers Hassan Joho, Opiyo Wandayi, Jon Mbadi and Wycliffe Oparanya were in the meeting that informally agreed to formalise the coalition.
“The issue will be taken to the party early next year and once endorsed, then we will sit down to draft the deal,” a senior official who attended the meeting said.
ODM is slated to have a National Delegates Convention (NDC) in the first quarter of 2026.
Other than getting a share of government appointments, ODM is pushing for Ruto’s running mate position to probably go to the Western region.
On Monday, Governor Sharrif Nassir became the senior-most leader to call for formalisation of the UDA-ODM deal, saying that readership sometimes requires making hard, pragmatic choices guided by a clear reading of reality.
“I am calling on my colleagues within the ODM party to consider formalisation of a pre-election coalition with the United Democratic Alliance in good faith ahead of the 2027 elections. This position is informed by a sober assessment of the political terrain, the balance of forces, and the pathways available to protect our interests and advance our agenda,” he said in a statement.
Last weekend, President Ruto also hinted that he is ready to craft a pact with the ODM party, which seeks to bolster his chances of re-election.
“Be ready,” the President told ODM leaders in Migori on Saturday, adding, “I will also put my team ready to form a joint government.”
And on Sunday, speaking in Homa Bay, Ruto said, “I am telling members of ODM to be ready. On our side, as UDA and Kenya Kwanza, we are ready. Let’s strategise and join hands in forming the government that will make Kenya a first-world country.”
The quest for a pre-election coalition, however, faces obstacles with a section of ODM leaders led by Secretary General Edwin Sifuna and Siaya Governor James Orengo, seen as rebel voices, objecting to the deal.
Wanga and Junet have vowed to push out the party rebels, claiming that they are being enticed by former President Uhuru Kenyatta to divide the ODM followers as the party chiefs insist a deal with Ruto is the most viable.
“We must choose engagement over perpetual confrontation, strategy over sentiment, and outcomes over slogans. We would rather work with partners who have demonstrated respect and tolerance than align with those who have consistently shown contempt and discrimination (shareholding),” Nassir added.
