President William Ruto and ODM party leader Oburu Odinga are set to lead the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) and the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) leaders in a three-day retreat in Naivasha as the broad-based administration moves to consolidate its political camp ahead of the August 2027 General Election.

🇰🇪 Breaking It Down

The high-level meeting set to kick off on Sunday, August 9, is expected to bring together governors, deputy governors, and Members of Parliament from the two parties, with leaders set to deliberate on the future of the broad-based arrangement.

"We'll check in on Sunday evening. We have some meetings on Sunday evening, and we have the whole day on Monday, all the way till evening. We'll give you the press briefing at 4 p.m," stated National Assembly majority leader Kimani Ichung'wah.

According to sources close to the government, key issues on the agenda include implementation of the NADCO report, compensation for victims of protests, the recently unveiled Vision 2060, and plans for nationwide mobilisation in support of Ruto ahead of the 2027 contest.

📌 What You Need to Know

However, at the centre of the retreat will be the proposed UDA-ODM coalition talks and the sharing of political positions ahead of the election.

The meeting will set the stage for the beginning of the negotiation team, which will discuss the partnership, with ODM pushing for a 50-50 power-sharing formula as well as demanding the Deputy President position if Ruto secures the presidential ticket.

"We demand that if we have to work together, it is only proper if the position of the Deputy President came from the ODM party," Stewart Madzayo, Senate minority leader, said.

"The president and the deputy president cannot come from one party if we are in this broad-based arrangement, and therefore automatically it goes without saying that the deputy president will come from the ODM party," he added.

At the same time, the ODM party has called for zoning of its traditional strongholds to be protected from UDA competition, stating that it is one of their irreducible minimums to work with the UDA party.

The retreat comes amid differences in the broad-based government, with ODM demanding the DP position, putting Deputy President Kithure Kindiki's position at risk.

📰 Source: Kenyans.co.ke