Kithure Kindiki leads as top candidate for William Ruto running mate in 2027 – TIFA Poll
Kithure Kindiki leads as top candidate for William Ruto running mate in 2027 - TIFA Poll
The Trends and Insights For Africa (TIFA) has released a poll on the 2027 pairings, which shows the current Deputy President Kithure Kindiki as the preferred candidate to deputise President William Ruto.
According to the polls, Kindiki leads as Ruto’s preferred 2027 running mate at 59 per cent, followed by Homabay Governor and the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) chairperson Gladys Wanga with 12 per cent.
Following Wanga are ODM figures like the party leader Oburu Oginga and Mining and Blue Economy Cabinet Secretary Ali Hassab Joho, each garnering just three per cent support.
The polls further reveal that President Ruto’s close allies of Western Kenya, the Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, garnered just two per cent of the support, with the National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula garnering one per cent.
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This comes as President William Ruto faces a growing political headache ahead of 2027, caught between ODM’s demands for the Deputy President slot and pressure from his base to retain current DP Kithure Kindiki.
ODM, led by figures like Oburu Oginga, insists the DP position is their fair share for joining the broad-based government, while Kindiki has firmly declared his seat is not up for negotiation.
On the other hand, Oburu’s Linda Ground faction dealt a blow with the polls revealing that Edwin Sifuna’s Linda Mwananchi is the most preferred faction within ODM with a support base of 73 per cent over Oburu’s Linda Ground 24 per cent.
The huge distinction follows Raila Odinga’s passing in October 2025 that plunged the party into deep divisions driven by a power vacuum, competing succession plans for 2027, and ideological conflicts over aligning with President William Ruto’s “broad-based government”.
In terms of presidential pairings within the United Opposition, the polls highlight that the Kalonzo-Matiang’i ticket leads with 31 per cent, narrowly ahead of Kalonzo-Sifuna at 28 per cent.
Additionally, the Gachagua-Kalonzo pair follows at 25 per cent, as the Kalonzo-Karua pair lags far behind at just 7 per cent.
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