President William Ruto renewed his charm offensive for the Western Kenya vote as he consolidates his vote basket ahead of the August 2027 General Election.
Speaking on Wednesday, July 15, Ruto stated that he needed the region to rally behind him, but expressed concern over the low number of registered voters.
He claimed that close to 1.5 million eligible residents from Western Kenya had failed to enrol as voters, yet he needed their numbers for his re-election bid.
"On the matter of lections, we will organise ourselves because we are the masters of politics. However, the first thing you need to do is to register as voters.
"There are 1.5 million in Western Kenya who have ID cards but don't have voters' cards, yet they hang around shopping centres, beating isikuti drums. How can such a person help us?" Ruto chided.
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The Head of State intimated that he had instructed Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang'ula and CS Wycliffe Oparanya to mobilise the people from Western to enrol as voters.
"You cannot be elected President without votes, so you need to sort out that area. When you bring in votes, we can now talk about the future; it is up to you," he reiterated.
The Western Region vote was among the key factors in determining the election result in 2022. While the region was presumed to be a stronghold for the late Raila Odinga, the President managed to pull a surprise on the Azimio la Umoja candidate.
The upset was in Bungoma County, where the Head of State garnered 229,409 votes (63.15 percent) against the late Prime Minister's 13,478 votes (35.92 percent).
Currently, the region has more than 3 million votes, which the President will contest with the Opposition in the upcoming General Election. Leaders allied to the government have been campaigning for the president in the region.
Earlier, Trans Nzoia Governor George Natembeya had announced plans to mobilise the region to vote as one block and support Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna, who has been linked to the top seat.
Natembeya revealed that there would be a major meeting where Sifuna is expected to be endorsed by the Luhya Community Council of Elders before he embarks on nationwide campaigns.
While Sifuna has not made a formal decision about running for the presidency, he has also been linked to the running mate position.
A recent opinion poll released by Infotrak revealed that the Nairobi Senator was the preferred candidate among 12 per cent of Kenyans. The poll established that a joint ticket with Wiper's Kalonzo Musyoka was the best duo from the Opposition to face Ruto on the ballot.
