The broad-based government has no option but to win the 2027 general election, President Ruto says, warning that the alternative would be difficult to fathom.
Speaking during the opening session of a three-day UDA-ODM parliamentary retreat in Naivasha on Monday, President Ruto told leaders from the two parties that they must work together to secure victory.
“We must win 2027 general elections not for your sake but because the alternative is difficult to fathom; the people we are facing have no agenda, no policy and no experience,” the President said.
Ruto dismissed the opposition forces seeking to challenge the broad-based government, claiming they have yet to present a credible alternative that would convince Kenyans to change the current administration.
The President described the UDA-ODM alliance as the largest political formation in the country since the grand coalition government that brought together former President Mwai Kibaki and the late opposition leader Raila Odinga following the 2007-2008 post-election violence.
“This broad-based family is only second to the grand coalition government. Therefore, where you are seated today, understand the consequence of your being here,” Ruto told the gathering.
The three-day meeting is expected to serve as a critical platform for the broad-based government to lay the groundwork for the 2027 general election.
Discussions are set to focus on the achievements and shortcomings of the political arrangement, as well as the implementation of the 10-point agenda that underpinned the UDA-ODM partnership.
Sources at the retreat indicated that the meeting would also pave the way for the formation of a 10-member team, comprising five representatives from each side, to spearhead pre-coalition negotiations ahead of the 2027 presidential contest.
The Naivasha meeting is crucial in determining whether UDA and ODM can consolidate their partnership and present a united front for 2027.
The broad-based government arrangement was formalized following the 2024 anti-government protests that forced President Ruto to reconstitute his Cabinet and bring in ODM members in a bid to stabilize his administration and broaden his political base.
