With the 2027 General Election approaching, the opposition camp is yet to announce its candidate who will face President William Ruto.
The united opposition camp features former Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka, Ruto’s former Deputy Rigathi Gachagua, former Cabinet Secretaries Fred Matiang’i and Eugene Wamalwa, and Governor George Natembeya.
Although not in the united opposition camp, former Chief Justice David Maraga is also poised to be in the presidential polls to face Ruto.
Now, with the opposition yet to decide who will run as they seek to make Ruto a one-term president, political analyst David Makali conducted an online poll to see who netizens prefer.
In the first poll dated March 29, Makali included the names of Kalonzo Musyoka, David Maraga, Rigathi Gachagua, and George Natembeya. He then asked Kenyans on Twitter,
“Who should be the united opposition candidate to face William Ruto in 2027? (This list is not exhaustive and is limited by the app.)”
Surprisingly, after over 20 hours of the poll, at least 5,900 Kenyans chose their preferred candidate to face President Ruto.
At the time Times Digital Kenya checked the results, former CJ David Maraga had 45% of the vote, while Wiper Democratic Movement party leader Kalonzo Musyoka was second with 40%.
The other two, Rigathi Gachagua and George Natembeya, were far behind with 8% and 7% respectively.
The second part of the poll features Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna, Fred Matiang’i, former Attorney General Justin Muturi, and Martha Karua.
In this poll, Edwin Sifuna leads with 62%, followed by Fred Matiang’i with 21%, former Attorney General Justin Muturi with 13%, and Martha Karua with 5% of the 3,400 respondents.
2027 Strategy
The poll comes as the opposition continues to drum up support in several parts of the country with the aim of unseating Ruto in 2027. The opposition has maintained that it will announce a sole candidate by the end of 2026.
Most notably, Rigathi Gachagua, Kalonzo Musyoka, and Fred Matiang’i have all positioned themselves as leaders who have what it takes to be the United Opposition’s flagbearer.
Former Chief Justice David Maraga is charting his own path as he prepares his bid and is said to be keen on running independently, not aligning with the United Opposition.
On the other hand, Edwin Sifuna has been vibrant in the past few months since his controversial removal as ODM Secretary-General.
Since then, his popularity has dramatically increased across the country, with his “Mimi Ndio Sifuna” slogan winning the hearts of many Kenyans. As such, Sifuna’s name has risen among the young top Kenyan politicians, with some of his supporters and analysts saying he has what it takes to run for the top seat.
