ODM party leaders at Sameta grounds in Kisii County during the 'Linda Ground' event on January 25, 2026.
A political fault line has emerged between members of UDA and ODM over the contentious question of zoning ahead of the 2027 elections.
ODM leaders have urged President William Ruto and Siaya Senator Oburu Oginga to pronounce themselves on the matter of zoning.
President William Ruto shares a light moment with Siaya Senator Oburu Oginga when he visited Siaya County on January 14, 2023.
Their counterparts in the ruling party, however, have pushed back firmly, arguing that such a system would deny voters a fair and unfettered choice of leaders.
Zoning, as proposed, would see coalition partners fielding a single candidate per seat, effectively avoiding internal competition. Should UDA and ODM enter into such an arrangement, ODM would exclusively front candidates across the Nyanza region, while UDA would dominate in its perceived strongholds in the Rift Valley.
To its proponents within ODM, zoning is not merely a strategy but a cornerstone of pre-election negotiations. They argue that political parties should concentrate their energies where their support runs deepest. But within UDA, the sentiment is markedly different. Party officials and aspirants maintain that competition must be open and widespread, even in regions long considered bastions of ODM support.
UDA Secretary-General Hassan Omar has dismissed the proposal outright, contending that the strength of any party must ultimately be tested at the ballot.
“ODM claims it is the strongest party, yet insists on zoning. Let us meet at the ballot,” he said.
UDA national elections board’s chairman Anthony Mwaura.
UDA National Elections Board Anthony Mwaura told Daily Nation that the ruling party enjoys national appeal and would be fielding candidates in all electoral areas across the country. He added that the only compromise the party can make is to have joint nominations with ODM in areas the two parties stand to lose if they field separately.
ODM insiders believe that it is only by retaining its traditional bastions that the party would have a substantive stake in the next government.
But critics of this move see it as a scheme to protect some sitting elected leaders, seen to be loyal to the current leadership of the party.
Alego Usonga MP Samuel Atandi, Homa Bay Town MP Peter Kaluma and Kabondo Kasipul MP Eve Obara have vowed to champion zoning as a non-negotiable in any coalition discussions.
ODM Leader Oburu Oginga at Linda Ground in Siaya County.
“The minimum precondition for any engagement with UDA is compulsory zoning of our regions,” he said during a church service in Muhoroni on Sunday.
“Our irreducible minimum as the people of Homa Bay is that the county remains an ODM zone,” Mr Kaluma declared.
Meanwhile, UDA aspirants in the region are digging in, determined not to cede ground without a contest. In Kasipul, parliamentary hopeful Festus Juma, constituency organising secretary Fredrick Bala and West Kasipul ward aspirant Ken Chiaga have all rejected zoning as undemocratic and exclusionary.
“We do not consider Homa Bay an ODM zone. There must be space for all to compete fairly,” he said. He described the push for zoning as a departure from Raila’s ideals, terming it “a mark of political timidity”.
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