Political commentator Samuel OwidaAs Kenya inches closer to the 2027 general election, the opposition faces a defining test: whether it can build a credible coalition without repeating the mistakes of secret negotiations, personal deals and political betrayals that have weakened such formations in the past.
Coalition building is a legitimate and necessary part of competitive politics. Parties and leaders with shared interests must be able to negotiate, compromise and agree on how to confront the political establishment.
But the process must be transparent enough to command the confidence of their supporters.
Secret deals are particularly dangerous because they create suspicion among coalition partners and supporters.
When leaders negotiate behind closed doors and emerge with unexplained agreements, they leave room for speculation, resentment and accusations of betrayal.
Such arrangements may hold temporarily, but they rarely create durable political alliances.
The opposition must therefore learn to distinguish between confidential negotiations, which are sometimes necessary, and secret political deals that fundamentally alter the direction of a coalition without the knowledge of its members.
Leaders seeking to unite the opposition should agree on clear principles governing coalition negotiations.
Key issues such as the distribution of elective positions, presidential candidature, policy priorities and mechanisms for resolving disputes should be discussed openly within the respective parties before final agreements are made.
More importantly, coalition partners must treat each other as equals.
An alliance built around one leader's ambitions or a handful of political brokers is unlikely to survive the pressures of an election campaign.
The opposition's greatest strength lies in its ability to remain united. But unity cannot be imposed; it must be built on trust.
With the 2027 election approaching, opposition leaders should resist the temptation to negotiate their political futures through backroom arrangements.
They owe their supporters honesty, clarity and accountability.
If the opposition wants to remain intact, it must make transparency the foundation of its coalition-building process.
Political alliances built in the open have a better chance of surviving the storms of an election.
The political commentator spoke to the Star
