ODM Party leader Oburu Oginga has defended the party's zoning strategy ahead of the 2027 General Election, saying the proposal was conceived by the late Raila Amolo Odinga and will remain central to the party's negotiations within the broad-based government coalition.
Speaking during a Thanksgiving Event for Homa Bay County Woman Representative Joyce Osogo Bensuda on Sunday, Oburu said the party would negotiate from a position of strength rather than seek favours, insisting its numerical strength and political support entitle it to a fair share of leadership positions in any future coalition arrangement.
"We are going to come through the front door strong, and we are not going to be beggars. We are going to have our fair share because of our numbers," he said.
Oburu said the zoning proposal was an ODM initiative championed by the late Raila Odinga, adding that the party was fully committed to implementing it.
"It was an idea of our late Raila Amolo Odinga... and therefore we are 100 per cent supporting it because it is our idea, it is our contribution to the coalition," he said.
Defending the arrangement, Oburu argued that zoning would safeguard ODM's traditional strongholds while allowing coalition partners to cooperate instead of competing against each other.
"If you don't want zoning, what do you want? We want zoning because this is our zone," he said, adding that areas where ODM has governors, Members of Parliament and Members of County Assembly "are our zones automatically without negotiation."
He said the party expected to retain leadership positions in its traditional support bases and called for unity across ODM strongholds, including Western, North Eastern, Turkana, the Coast and Maasai regions.
"We want to work all of us together, and we are going to come together to form the next government as one," he said.
His remarks come months after the zoning debate heightened political tensions within the broad-based government, with ODM and the ruling UDA differing over whether coalition partners should reserve certain regions for specific parties ahead of the 2027 elections.
While ODM leaders argued that zoning is necessary to minimise competition and strengthen the coalition, some UDA leaders maintained that every party should be free to field candidates nationwide.
ODM Chairperson Gladys Wanga who also attended the event, defended the party's decision to remain in the broad-based government, saying the arrangement had demonstrated that every region could be included in national development.
"We as a people and as a party have made a conscious decision to be in the broad-based government," Wanga said. "President William Ruto has made a decision that many people thought could not happen. Many people felt that the house called Kenya, some people must be outside for some people to be inside."
She added that the broad-based government had embraced the view that "this house called Kenya is enough for everybody, and everybody can stay inside that house, and every part of this country can receive development."