Parties go into a frenzy as they prepare for elections

President William Ruto presides over the UDA National Executive Committee meeting on January 15, 2026. [PCS]

Political parties are scrambling to put their houses in order with 600 days remaining before the August 2027 General Election.

Some like President William Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance (UDA) have held grassroots elections to entrench themselves, while Rigathi Gachagua’s Democracy for Citizens (DCP) and Oburu Oginga’s Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) are also drawing up strategies.

Data from the Registrar of Political Parties shows that there are currently about 92 fully registered parties and at least 30 others, which are provisionally registered.

UDA has been organising itself, insisting that the party remains focused on delivering development, stability and shared prosperity for Kenyans, urging Kenyans to rise above divisive politics and distractions and instead support its national agenda anchored on unity and progress.

Earlier this month, UDA held Phase III of its grassroots elections, with the National Executive Committee saying they attracted 492,439 candidates who contested for 231,770 seats.

On Saturday, President Ruto hosted more than 15,000 party delegates from Nyeri County elected during the grassroots elections.

On its part, ODM has commenced its public consultative forum, which kicked off in Kibra last Wednesday.

Amid reports of divisions in the party, ODM leaders had a firm stance that Oburu Odinga is their bonafide leader and the only one with authority to negotiate on behalf of the party.

In the meeting characterised by affirming support for Oburu to lead the party into the next political phase, the ODM leaders said they will remain in broad-based government where their late party leader, Raila Odinga, left them.

Oburu reiterated their decision going forward, saying ODM will remain in the broad-based government until 2027 but will negotiate for their position going beyond the elections.

In what seemed a move to quell what has been perceived as attempts to kick out some of its members including Secretary General, Edwin Sifuna, Oburu cleared the air saying that they will not send anyone away.

DCP, one of the youngest parties in the country, has also been organising itself, with its leader, former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, often finding himself at the receiving end over his quest to sweep elective positions, especially in Mt Kenya region.

Gachagua has had to dismiss perceptions that DCP is a tribal party saying that the November last year by-elections presented a different opinion.

“The strategy is that everyone builds their own party and mobilise strongholds of the united opposition and then late next year, we will sit down and say we have successfully mobilised our supporters,,” Gachagua said.

Wiper, DP, Jubilee, People’s Liberation Party, Democratic Action Party of Kenya and the latest entrant National Economic Development Party have also been strategising and re-aligning themselves in readiness for the 2027 elections.