NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 6 — House Finance Committee Chairperson Kimani Kuria has warned political parties against adopting zoning arrangements in coalition deals, arguing that the move threatens democratic space and entrenches ethnic-based, agenda-less parties.
The UDA lawmaker, who spoke to reporters in Molo on Friday, criticized proposals reportedly advanced by ODM as part of pre-coalition talks with UDA, saying zoning would deny Kenyans the right to freely elect leaders of their choice.
“As much as we welcome the views of our brothers in ODM and other like-minded parties, personally I am against this idea of zoning for a number of reasons. Zoning is the root cause of tribalism and lack of democracy in some regions in this country,” the Molo MP said.
He argued that zoning arrangements not only limit voter choice but also weaken accountability, as leaders would rely on party endorsement rather than popular support to secure electoral victory.
Kuria urged politicians to align themselves with parties whose manifestos reflect the aspirations of the constituents they seek to represent, instead of joining outfits formed around regional or ethnic interests.
The legislator pointed to the United States’ two-party system as an example of how strong, ideology-driven political structures can endure over time.
“We should never have parties formed for a certain electioneering period and only end up being irrelevant once the party leader is no more or has lost an election. For instance, Jubilee Party was vibrant in 2017 only for it to be insignificant in 2022,” he said.
UDA aspirants
His remarks come days after more than 13,000 aspirants seeking to contest on a UDA ticket met the party’s top leadership to discuss structures ahead of the 2027 General Election.
“I want to thank the highest number of aspirants who have shown interest in contesting on a UDA ticket in 2027. This shows that more people believe in the UDA manifesto, and I would like to encourage other parties to follow suit,” he added.
Kuria’s comments also come amid a wave of political realignments, with defections from ODM as the party faces internal pressure following Raila Odinga’s exit from active leadership.
Within ODM, debates over zoning have intensified as some leaders push for the strategy as a survival tactic.
At the same time, a faction of youthful leaders is reportedly backing the formation of an ODM-Asili outfit under leaders including Governor James Orengo, Millie Odhiambo, Edwin Sifuna and Babu Owino.
DCP influence
In the Mt Kenya region, the rising influence of the Democratic Citizen Party (DCP) has reshaped local politics, with some leaders folding their parties to join UDA.
A similar trend is emerging in Western Kenya, where ANC and Ford Kenya face mounting competition from UDA, DAP-K and the nascent ODM-Asili movement.
Political analyst Ruben Olita predicts a paradigm shift across Western, Nyanza and Central Kenya, with politicians navigating growing pressure from an increasingly assertive youthful electorate.
Kuria said party primaries would present the biggest test for political formations, as many aspirants may fail to secure nominations.
He urged UDA and other parties to allow aspirants to contest freely across all regions, arguing that open competition would strengthen democracy and give voters a wider pool of leaders committed to service delivery.
“Let us not limit aspirants to certain areas only. We must create healthy competition for the benefit of wananchi who want services, not party hooliganism,” he said.
