ODM-UDA team begins fine-tuning joint manifesto ahead of 2027 elections

ODM-UDA manifesto joint committee met ODM deputy party leader Abdulswamad Nassir in Mombasa. [Omondi Onyango, Standard]

 The ODM-UDA manifesto joint committee has started consultations with key political leaders and stakeholders to fine-tune a shared policy document to guide the broad-based government re-election campaign.

The team met ODM deputy party leader Abdulswamad Nassir as they raced against time to fine-tune the document ahead of the 2027 General election, which is 10 months away.

Nassir, who asked the team to come up with a good document, said they will also meet ODM deputy party Leader Simba Arati as they seek to consolidate the priorities of the two political parties.

Addressing the media in Mombasa after meeting the team, Nassir noted that the committee does not have a very big task in fine-tuning the document because both parties have similar aspirations in their documents.

Nassir explained that both manifestos recognised the need to remunerate Community Health Promoters (CHPs) and provide affordable housing, among other issues for the benefit of Kenyans.

He also identified special economic zones and social protection as other shared areas,

"I think drafting this manifesto will not be much work. It is just a matter of ironing out the issues to make sure everything is well," he said.

The governor said they expect the exercise to be completed by February next year.

“We are racing against time because we only have 10 months remaining before the General Election. The joint  ODM-UDA manifesto drafting committee is racing against time to fine-tune a shared policy document to guide the broad-based government's re-election campaign,” said Nassir.

He explained that the team led by ODM representative Engineer Carey Orege and UDA's Dr Emmanuel Nzai are capable of consolidating the priorities of the two parties and coming up with a common manifesto ahead of the election.

The governor expressed confidence that the exercise will be smooth, saying ODM and UDA share common policy priorities in several key sectors.

Nassir reaffirmed ODM's commitment to the broad-based political arrangement and support for President William Ruto's re-election, urging the committee to produce a document that reflects the aspirations of Kenyans and enjoys the backing of all coalition partners.

He clarified that the committee was undertaking technical work to outline the broad-based government's development agenda and was not responsible for negotiating a pre-election coalition agreement.

The governor revealed that a separate team would be appointed by the respective party leaders to negotiate the coalition agreement in accordance with their party constitutions, with the proposals subsequently presented to the relevant party organs for endorsement.

The committee is expected to consult other deputy party leaders’ secretaries-general, governors, Members of Parliament and other stakeholders before completing its work.