Power, parties and the road to the 2027 General Election.
The election of three Indigenous women to senior political offices in the US marks a breakthrough for communities historically excluded from power. Deb Haaland, Peggy Flanagan and Claire Valdez made history in the November 3 midterm elections, taking Indigenous representation into some of the country’s most influential political institutions. Haaland, a member of the Laguna
Opaque political party funding remains Africa’s weakest governance area, raising concerns about the influence of undisclosed financiers on democratic competition, a new report has found. The Integrity Narratives 2026 report by the African Institute for Development Policy (AFIDEP) finds that the continent’s average score for political finance has never exceeded 10 out of 100, highlighting
The alleged abduction of Tanzanian opposition activist Twaha Mwaipaya in Machakos County has triggered fresh concerns over the safety of political dissidents in Kenya. Opposition movement Linda Mwananchi on Monday demanded his immediate release or disclosure of his whereabouts In a statement Linda Mwananchi said Mwaipaya was seized in Kamulu by individuals travelling in three
Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing’oei has cautioned Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna against drawing inspiration from electoral upsets in Serbia and Brazil. In rebuttal on the X platform to Sifuna’s optimism about the possibility of an opposition victory in 2027, Sing’oei warned that Kenya’s political dynamics were too complex for outcomes elsewhere to be treated
A fresh political row over the integrity of the voter register erupted in the National Assembly after Kirinyaga MP Njeri Maina claimed aliens could be registering to vote. In the heated exchange between Maina and broad-based affiliated MPs, lawmakers demanded evidence that was happening and warned against undermining public confidence in the electoral process. Maina
Kenya’s 2027 electoral contest is taking shape in an information environment where political narratives can spread faster than institutions can verify, respond to or correct them, a new report says The KICTANet report, Many Microphones, Little Accountability, warns that Kenya’s shift from traditional media to influencers, TikTok, Facebook, YouTube and podcasts is creating a widening
The August 10, 2027 election could unleash a new form of political violence in which gangs, counter-mobs and ordinary citizens become increasingly difficult to control. According to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED), political violence is evolving beyond the traditional use of organised gangs to intimidate opponents. It says retaliatory mobs are
BY D.W WAGACHA Irrefutably, the Ol Kalou constituency by-election triggered considerable reverberations with the potential to make significant recalibrations on the Kenyan political landscape. The Democratic Citizens Party (DCP), led by former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua secured the seat with 35,440 votes, against President William Ruto’s ruling United Democratic Alliance (UDA) that garnered 5,450 votes.
The ruling United Democratic Alliance, led by President William Ruto, will face off with the Democracy for the Citizens Party in the July 16 Ol Kalou by-election, setting up a high-stakes political contest in Nyandarua County. The mini-poll is shaping up as an early test of strength between UDA and DCP, led by former Deputy
BY MACHARIA WANGUI The United Democratic Alliance has handed its Ol Kalou parliamentary ticket to Samuel Muchina Nyaga, a long-serving aide to the late area MP Njuguna Kiaraho, setting the stage for a closely watched by-election in Nyandarua County. Muchina, who served as Kiaraho’s personal assistant, won the party primaries on Friday after garnering 3,221
BY MACHARIA WANGUI More than 7,000 residents in Laikipia North risk being locked out of the 2027 General Election due to a lack of national identity cards,. Highlighting a deepening crisis of access to civil registration among marginalised communities, members of the Pokot community in Sossian ward say years of neglect have denied them the
Deputy President Kithure Kindiki appears to be recalibrating his political tone, stepping back from months of public confrontation with his predecessor Rigathi Gachagua amid shifting alliances and rising uncertainty within the Kenya Kwanza administration. Since his appointment in 2024, Kindiki had frequently traded barbs with Gachagua, now leader of the Democracy for Citizens Party, in
National Assembly legislators have rejected the Sh63 billion proposed budget for the 2027 General Election terming it unviable. The Justice and Legal Affairs Committee on Tuesday said the cost estimates presented by the electoral agency must be reviewed downward before Parliament can approve the funding. The cost includes Sh12.4 billion for wages, voter registration
