The process of crafting a joint manifesto for the new broad-based coalition framework is underway, Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi has revealed.

Mudavadi said a committee is being set-up comprising of members drawn from the Kenya Kwanza side under the UDA party and the ODM side to work on the joint coalition framework that will be President William Ruto’s re-election vehicle.

“We are putting pen on paper to have a new coalition framework that will drive our agenda for the next five years after August 2027, and President Ruto will be our candidate for the new framework.” Mudavadi said.

Mudavadi was speaking during a consultative engagement with more than 100 UDA Party aspirants drawn from Kakamega and Vihiga Counties at the Tom Mboya Labour College in Kisumu.

He said the meeting is one of its kind to strengthen the grassroots support for the UDA party ahead of the new coalition formation.

He noted that the UDA party members and aspirants must give the party a national outlook for it to have the numbers that will help the party organs negotiate on a higher side of the new coalition framework.

“You cannot have a leader of a coalition in a broad-based framework then you weaken his party. You cannot have a leader who does not have an edge in terms of the numbers he commands and the strength of the people’s following.” Mudavadi warned.

“One of the challenges the late President Mwai Kibaki had during the grand coalition government was that he didn’t have the muscle within the coalition. It then became difficult for him even to drive his legislative agenda through parliament. We don’t want this to happen to our candidate President Ruto when he wins.” Mudavadi added.

The Prime Cabinet Secretary emphasized on political stability and policy continuation, urging voters to back the current administration to protect development gains, while positioning Western Kenya to pursue the presidency after President William Ruto’s 2nd term.

He said focus should be on what President Ruto has offered the Western Kenya region in terms of development projects during his first term.

“President Ruto has already begun the agenda targeting beyond vision 2030. If we want continuity of this legacy and agenda where we ensure completion of our projects as a region then we have no choice but to grant him a second term.” Mudavadi told the Western Kenya region.

He urged the aspirants to put their best foot forward and reach the grassroots with their agenda citing that the upcoming nominations within the UDA party and broader within the broad-based arrangement will be tough.

He said while the UDA party assures all aspirants eyeing elective seats in 2027 general election of free and fair nominations, aspirants must work hard to both secure President Ruto’s re-election and also secure their chance at the ballot.

“Aspirants must activate their own machinery since the UDA party has a very strong opinion poll mechanism which is highly accurate. If you sit back and relax, how will your radar be activated? Make sure the UDA radar captures you.” he told the aspirants.

Mudavadi also criticised what he described as a lack of clear ideas and policies within the opposition, insisting that the UDA Party will field candidates at all levels from President to Members of County Assemblies in the 2027 general elections.

“It is clear that we must work and pull together to get the numbers we are targeting. We want enough numbers that will give and define the President’s strength in both houses of Parliament, the Senate and National Assembly and further across all County Assemblies. We must remember that we are also battling with the constitutional requirement that the threshold enshrined in Article 138 (4) of the Kenyan Constitution dictates that ‘A candidate shall be declared elected as President if the candidate receives more than half of all the votes cast in the election and the candidate must have attained a 25% win in the majority of the counties across the country which is 24 counties plus one’,” Mudavadi explained.

Mudavadi said the new coalition framework will clearly define the new areas of operation between UDA and ODM warning UDA aspirants that ODM has insisted it wants power and UDA must work hard to retain the power it commands now.

He said numbers will be a measure of bargain within the new coalition arrangement.