President William Ruto in Kisumu on September 13, 2026./FAITH MATETE
President William Ruto has reassured ODM members over ongoing negotiations on the shape of the next government.
Ruto said his administration will continue working with the opposition party and its leaders.
Speaking in Kisumu on Sunday at the start of his four-day tour of Nyanza, Ruto said ODM and his administration would sit down and negotiate their political partnership ahead of the 2027 General Election.
“We will sit and negotiate to form the next government. Do not be worried. The person you will be negotiating with is a former deputy party leader of ODM. Where is the problem? There is no problem. We will walk together,” Ruto said.
Delegations from the Nyanza region at the Kisumu port on September 13, 2026./FAITH MATETE
“I am confident that the partnership that the late Raila Odinga gave us when he was alive, we will respect his wishes and visions and ensure that the party and movement he left behind is something we will carry into the future,” he said.
Ruto said ODM and his administration had already demonstrated that they could work together through the broad-based government arrangement, urging leaders in Nyanza to remain united as the country heads towards the 2027 elections.
He said political negotiations were normal and should be viewed as an opportunity for the region to secure its interests while contributing to the development of the country.
ODM national chairperson Gladys Wanga backed the broad-based arrangement, declaring that nearly the entire party leadership was behind the decision to work with Ruto’s administration.
Delegations from the Nyanza region at the Kisumu port on September 13, 2026./FAITH MATETE
Wanga, who is also Homa Bay Governor, dismissed dissenting voices within ODM as a minority, saying the party’s position was broader than individual leaders.
“All the leaders of ODM are here except one. If you do the arithmetic, we are here 99.99 per cent,” Wanga said.
She said ODM has 15 governors, with only one allegedly not supporting the direction the party has taken.
“Some of them had left the party when Raila was even still alive. When we say we are in the broad-based government, it is not about leaders but the entire party,” she said.
Wanga said ODM was preparing to enter negotiations with the government to secure what she described as the party’s rightful share.
“We will get in and do negotiations. Tutakua tumejipanga. We will negotiate for the rightful share of the ODM party,” she said.
She said the arrangement had the backing of elected leaders, including MPs and governors, as well as the Luo Council of Elders and the church.
“We are here, all leaders, MPs, governors, the Council of Elders and the church. We are in the broad-based government with a reason,” Wanga said.
The governor also pointed to development projects in Luo Nyanza as evidence of what she said were the benefits of the partnership with the national government.
“We have seen development we have never seen,” she said, citing the Standard Gauge Railway among projects she said demonstrated the impact of the arrangement in the region.
Ruto also sought to sell his administration’s development record as the basis on which the broad-based government would approach the next election.
“We are confident, as broad-based, as we go to the election next year, that we have kept our promise and people will judge us based on our track record,” he said.
The President is spending four days in Nyanza, with his tour taking him to Kisumu, Siaya, Migori and Homa Bay, where he is expected to inspect development projects and engage leaders and residents on regional priorities
