Battle for the grassroots as parties race to build 2027 machinery

The battle for the 2027 vote is shifting from big political rallies to the grassroots, with parties racing to recruit aspirants, strengthen local structures and expand their influence in areas controlled by rival formations.

With less than a year to the General Election, politicians are increasingly turning their attention to the ground, where the foundations of the next electoral contest are being laid.

Established parties are working to protect their traditional strongholds, while new and smaller formations are seeking to carve out space by attracting leaders and aspirants looking for alternatives to the dominant parties.

Across the country, the scramble is playing out through county tours, party office openings, grassroots meetings and efforts to win over influential local figures, signalling an early contest for political networks that could prove crucial during nominations and the 2027 campaigns.

The contest is particularly visible in Western Kenya and Nyanza, but reflects a broader national trend, with parties and political movements building networks intended to carry presidential, gubernatorial and parliamentary ambitions down to the ward and polling-station level.

The emerging competition has also seen politicians who previously operated within established parties establish or take control of their own political vehicles.

Among the new and newly acquired formations seeking to build political machinery are Saboti MP Caleb Amisi’s People’s Renaissance Movement (PM Party), Embakasi East MP Babu Owino’s Mwananchi Party, Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale’s United Patriotic Movement (UPM) and Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro’s People’s Party of Kenya.

The Office of the Registrar of Political Parties lists PM Party and UPM among parties fully registered in 2026, while Nyoro’s party has begun unveiling officials across several counties ahead of the next election.

PM Party provides one of the clearest examples of new formations seeking to turn political visibility into grassroots organisation.

On September 17, the party said more than 100 aspirants from Bungoma had joined its ranks after previously being associated with UDA, ODM, Ford Kenya and other parties.

The party has also taken its mobilisation campaign beyond Western Kenya, with Amisi recently touring the Coast.

In Vihiga, Amisi led a mobilisation drive that included roadside rallies in Chavakali and Majengo, where he addressed supporters and outlined the party’s plans for 2027.

He said PM Party was not being formed merely to participate in the election but to secure a role in the next administration.

“We are not forming PM just to participate in the 2027 election. We are forming PM to be part of the next government,” Amisi said.

He said the party was targeting a large number of elected positions, including Members of County Assembly and parliamentary seats.

“Our target is to have a majority of elected leaders at the county level and in the National Assembly,” he said.

The emergence of the PM Party is taking place alongside the rise of other political vehicles, including the Mwananchi Party associated with Babu Owino and UPM associated with Khalwale.

Khalwale has said UPM is intended to have a national footprint rather than remain confined to Western Kenya. The party is seeking to expand beyond the region, including establishing an office in Machakos after earlier activities in Kakamega, Bungoma and Garissa.

“UPM is a national party and will have who is who in the political space in this country who is advancing the one-term agenda. Exciting times are coming, and this is the party of the future, not only in Western alone but nationally,” Khalwale said.

Nyoro has also said the People’s Party continues to grow as more leaders and aspirants join the movement.

The party headquarters has welcomed aspirants from Bungoma, Siaya, Kirinyaga, Kiambu, Taita Taveta, Nakuru, Embu and other counties.

“The movement is gaining momentum as Kenyans from different regions come together behind a shared agenda for change,” Nyoro said during a previous meeting with aspirants.

The proliferation of political vehicles is also evident within opposition circles, where politicians are attempting to build individual bases while cooperating around broader political movements.

Speaking on a local radio station yesterday, Natembeya identified the United Democratic Party (UDP) as the party Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna would use in the presidential contest.

He said Sifuna could contest under UDP or through a coalition being formed by opposition parties.

Natembeya said the formation of parties should not necessarily be viewed as a sign of division within the opposition.

“Everyone is trying to form their own parties; regardless of the parties they form, they are still in the opposition. The whole block is opposition; it doesn’t matter the number of parties that are there,” Natembeya said.

UDP was led by former Lugari MP Cyrus Jirongo until his death in December 2025.

Sifuna’s political vehicle has remained a subject of discussion after a proposal to rebrand UDP as the Ukombozi Party of Kenya was rejected by the Registrar of Political Parties.

Amisi has cautioned Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna against being misled into acquiring a political party as he seeks a vehicle for his 2027 presidential bid.

Amisi said political parties should not be treated as mere electoral vehicles that can be bought and sold to serve individual ambitions.

“You don’t buy parties as if they are vehicles with logbooks. Sifuna, do not allow yourself to be duped into buying a political party just because you need a vehicle for the presidency,” Amisi said.

Political analysts view the uncertainty surrounding Sifuna’s political vehicle as one of the challenges facing movements seeking to turn broad support into an organised electoral structure without forcing leaders with their own parties and ambitions to surrender their political bases.

Babu Owino, for instance, has maintained that he can retain Mwananchi Party while supporting Sifuna’s presidential ambitions. Amisi has similarly continued to support Sifuna while building PM Party.

The arrangement could result in parties cooperating around a presidential candidate while competing separately for parliamentary and county seats, potentially making coalition negotiations more complex as party leaders balance national alliances with local electoral interests.

The new parties are, however, not entering an empty political field.

In Nyanza and Western Kenya, ODM, UDA, DAP-K and Ford Kenya are among established formations seeking to preserve or expand their grassroots presence as politicians reposition themselves ahead of 2027.

UDA has been conducting a nationwide effort to rebuild its structures from the polling-centre level upwards.

The party has held grassroots elections and moved towards ward-level structures, with its leadership linking the exercise to preparations for the 2027 election.

In Western Kenya, the contest is particularly visible.

Kakamega Deputy Governor Ayub Savula has said UDA intends to field candidates across the country and announced further grassroots mobilisation in the region, including ward-level activities and a sensitisation programme.

“The programme will strengthen the party’s grassroots structures and prepare it for the 2027 contest,” Savula said.

DAP-K is also seeking to maintain its influence in a region where political loyalties have traditionally been shaped by personalities, community mobilisation and established party networks.

Ford Kenya, associated with National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula, has also begun early mobilisation.

In July, its women leaders from several Western and Nyanza counties launched a drive to strengthen the party at the grassroots and recruit more members.

“We are here to chart our way forward as Ford Kenya women and to see how we can strengthen the party from the grassroots. Our mission is to organise women and ensure the party remains strong across the region,” Deputy Party Leader Millicent Abudho said.

Analysts argue that the significance of these activities lies not merely in the number of rallies being held, but in the attempt to build permanent structures capable of identifying candidates, mobilising voters and protecting party interests during nominations and on election day.

In Nyanza, the battle is taking a different but equally competitive form.

ODM is seeking to consolidate its traditional support base while smaller parties such as the Movement for Democracy and Growth (MDG) are trying to turn their existing networks into broader political organisations.

Ugenya MP David Ochieng has said MDG has deliberately invested in grassroots structures and expanded its presence beyond Nyanza, including in the Coast, Central Kenya and the Rift Valley.

“We deliberately went back to the grassroots last year to build structures. We have been in Kisauni, Kwale, Kilifi, Kajiado, Murang’a and all the way to Kapenguria,” Ochieng said.

ODM, meanwhile, has sought to strengthen its base while courting politicians associated with smaller parties.

In Siaya, party leader Oburu Odinga has attempted to persuade Ochieng to abandon MDG and seek the governor’s seat through ODM, but Ochieng has maintained his intention to use his own party.

A TIFA survey conducted in June 2026 found that 28 per cent of respondents did not identify with any political party, while

ODM registered 20 per cent party support and UDA 17 per cent.

The figures illustrate the size of the electorate that remains outside firm party identification, although the survey represents a particular point in time and should not be treated as a prediction of the 2027 vote.

That open political space is what smaller parties are seeking to occupy.

Political analyst David Owino says the scramble for political parties reflects the need for politicians to turn personal popularity into organised electoral machinery.

“The real test for these political formations is whether they can move beyond the personality of their party leaders and build structures that can survive the election cycle,” Owino says.

He says control of a political party also gives leaders greater leverage during coalition negotiations, nominations and the distribution of electoral positions.

Bkisanji@standardmedia.co.ke