ODM Youth League President Roseline Alionya has expressed confidence that President William Ruto will secure a second term in 2027 without the Mt Kenya vote.
The president’s vocal supporter dismissed the opposition’s prospects of presenting a united front.
Speaking to The Kenya Times, Alionya dismissed the notion that Mt Kenya remains the country’s ultimate political kingmaker.
She argued that the UDA-ODM broad-based arrangement, coupled with the president’s development agenda, has disunited the opposition and is gaining support across new voter regions, giving the president a clear pathway to re-election.
Alionya: Opposition Unity Faces Test Ahead of 2027
According to Alionya, the opposition’s biggest challenge will not be fielding a presidential candidate but keeping its principals united after choosing a flagbearer.
“Of course they will agree,” she said. “But will the rest remain? That is the question. They will not.”
She predicts that several opposition leaders would abandon the coalition if they were overlooked for the top two positions.
“By April, a lot of people in the opposition will have shifted,” she added, “especially if they will not be given the priority of being a presidential candidate or a deputy.”
Alionya also took issue with the growing narrative that young voters, in particular the Gen Z, would determine the outcome of the next election.
Additionally, she dismissed claims that the Gen Z wave will translate into electoral influence, arguing that the current voter registration figures do not support it.
“Can I shock you, by the way?” she asked, putting the new voter registrations at around four million. “If you look at the data of that register, the people who are registering are 30+ years old. By her own estimate, “around 67 to 70% are not young people.”
The youth leader finally turned her attention to Nairobi, suggesting that the battle for the Senate seat could overshadow the race for governor.
As president of the ODM Youth League and one of the most outspoken supporters of the UDA-ODM broad-based arrangement, Roseline Alionya has emerged as a prominent young voice in Kenyan politics.
She is an educator and policy researcher who taught Business Studies and Geography at Machakos School. She also chaired the ODM’s Young Captains.
Watch the full Interview below.
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