NAIROBI, Kenya — The Jubilee Party has announced plans to hold parallel rallies across the country to promote its candidates ahead of the 2027 General Election, signalling growing competition within the opposition coalition.
Party deputy leader Jeremiah Kioni said the decision follows concerns that current rallies organised by the United Opposition are increasingly favouring aspirants from the Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP).
Speaking on Wednesday, Kioni argued that the existing opposition events do not give Jubilee aspirants adequate time to present their agenda to voters or build their political profiles ahead of the next polls.
“We have understood that the rallies by the united opposition do not help those who want to vie for other positions, especially those from the Jubilee Party, because we do not get time to tell voters our mandate and campaign for ourselves,” he said.
Kioni explained that the move to organise separate rallies is also tied to an earlier agreement among opposition parties to avoid zoning arrangements.
Under that understanding, parties are free to field candidates in any part of the country rather than reserving regions for specific political formations.
“Because we agreed that there would be no zoning, it is important for every party to think about how its aspirants will find a forum to start campaigning. As we sell the opposition, we also need to sell our candidature so that the public can choose leaders they feel can represent them,” he added.
He further claimed that the current opposition rallies appear to favour candidates aligned with the DCP, warning that Jubilee aspirants risk losing visibility if the situation continues.
“We as Jubilee, if we are not careful, we will not get the opportunity to sell ourselves because the United Opposition platform is mainly supporting the DCP candidates,” Kioni said.
The former Ndaragwa Constituency lawmaker also alleged that he was denied an opportunity to address a rally in the constituency, which he represented for a decade in Parliament.
The development points to emerging political undercurrents within the opposition alliance as parties begin positioning themselves ahead of the 2027 elections.
Opposition leaders have been holding rallies across the country in recent months in a bid to consolidate support against the government of William Ruto.
However, the coalition has yet to settle on a single presidential candidate to challenge the incumbent in the next general election.
