NAIROBI, Kenya – East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) MP Winnie Odinga has publicly challenged the notion that the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) might not have a viable presidential candidate for the 2027 general election, saying it would be “implausible” for a party with more than eight million members to lack leadership capable of competing at the national level.
ODM is seeking to enter into a political deal with the ruling UDA, whose candidate is the incumbent President William Ruto.
Speaking during a live TV interview, Winnie said the party had qualified members who could face President Ruto in the 2027 presidential election.
The EALA legislator questioned suggestions that the party lacks a leader capable of running for the country’s top office, a debate that has intensified since the death of her father and long‑time party leader Raila Odinga in October 2025.
“For what reason would ODM not have a presidential candidate? The party has eight million members — are we saying there is not one that is fit enough to run for president?” she posed.
Winnie Odinga: For what reason would ODM not have a presidential candidate? The party has 8M members, are we saying there is not one that is fit enough to run for president? we have always fielded a presidential candidate #CitizenExplainer
Her remarks come amid ongoing discussions over whether ODM should field its own candidate or sustain its place within the current broad‑based government arrangement with President Ruto’s UDA.
The coalition has endured since Raila entered a political pact with President Ruto in March 2025, a move that initially stabilised relations between the former opposition party and the government.
Within ODM there are sharply divergent views on the way forward.
A faction led by party Secretary General Senator Edwin Sifuna has insisted that ODM will field a candidate in 2027 and is capable of unseating President Ruto, dismissing the idea of a broad‑based joint candidacy as untenable.
Sifuna has repeatedly maintained that ODM’s strength does not rely on a single individual and has affirmed the party’s intention to contest all elective positions independently.
However, not all senior voices in the party share this view.
Some leaders aligned with acting ODM leader Oburu Oginga have emphasised continued cooperation with the broad‑based government until 2027, arguing it reflects the late Raila Odinga’s vision of political unity and stability.
