ODM and UDA Working on Joint 2027 Manifesto, Says Oburu Oginga

Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party leader Oburu Oginga has revealed that ODM and President William Ruto's United Democratic Alliance (UDA) are in the early stages of crafting a joint manifesto ahead of the 2027 General Election — a disclosure that signals a deepening of the two parties' political cooperation and raises fresh questions about the shape of Kenya's next electoral contest.

Speaking at the funeral of Daniel Oluoch in Ugunja, Siaya County on Friday, Oburu said each of the two parties had appointed five members to a joint committee tasked with harmonising their respective policy positions. According to Nation.Africa's report of his remarks, Oburu indicated that the joint team had already begun its work, telling mourners gathered at the event: "We have each selected five members who will sit together and begin working on a joint manifesto. The negotiations have already started."

Oburu framed the manifesto effort as the natural extension of a broader political arrangement that, in his account, predates the formal 10-point agenda signed between President Ruto and then-ODM leader Raila Odinga in March 2025. The ODM leader has previously argued that the broad-based government framework should not be viewed as contingent on that particular agreement, saying the arrangement "started long before the 10-point agenda came" and that the agenda was intended to reinforce, not to create, the partnership between the two parties. He has maintained that the cooperation is designed to carry through to 2027, positioning a joint election bid as the intended outcome of the current arrangement.

The announcement comes as ODM faces mounting internal pressure over its continued alignment with the ruling party. Siaya Governor James Orengo, a senior figure within ODM, was notably absent from Friday's gathering. Orengo has publicly questioned the wisdom of a prolonged ODM-UDA partnership and has argued that the party should preserve its independent political identity ahead of 2027 — a stance that places him at odds with the course currently being charted by Oburu.

Also present at the burial was National Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi, who called on members of the Luo community to rally behind President Ruto's re-election campaign, linking the community's political support to potential future gains. Seme Member of Parliament James Nyikal separately urged ODM to deepen its grassroots structures, arguing the party needed a strong organisational base to maintain meaningful bargaining power as coalition talks advance.

Whether the joint manifesto process will produce a binding pre-election pact between ODM and UDA remains uncertain. The committee described by Oburu is at an early stage, and the dissenting voices within ODM — alongside the broader, still-fluid political landscape heading into 2027 — could alter its trajectory. For now, Oburu's remarks represent the clearest public signal yet that the current ODM leadership intends to contest the next general election in formal partnership with UDA rather than as an independent opposition force.

Kenya's next general election is scheduled for August 2027, leaving the joint committee roughly a year to produce a unified policy document should the process continue on its present course.

Sources: Nation.Africa.