Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna has been named the preferred presidential candidate of The Equitable Party (TEP), giving his 2027 presidential bid a formal political vehicle after weeks of efforts to establish a new platform.
The Equitable Party leader Gilbert Marava said the party would restructure its leadership to accommodate Senator Sifuna and his supporters, effectively making room for the Linda Mwananchi Movement (LMM) team.
“On our end, we have decided to restructure, and in the process, those who registered will stay, and we will bring in our brothers,” Marava said during the party unveiling in Nairobi on Sunday.
“Sifuna is going to run for president, and he will be the next leader of the Equitable Party (TEP),” he added.
The announcement marks a new phase in Sifuna's efforts to transition Linda Mwananchi Movement into an electoral vehicle following his fallout with the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM).
Several politicians attended the unveiling, including Trans Nzoia Governor George Natembeya, former Law Society of Kenya president Faith Odhiambo and MPs Babu Owino, Anthony Kibagendi, Majimbo Kalasinga, Jack Wamboka, Patrick Simiyu, Patrick Makau and Clive Ombane Gisairo.
Speaking during the event, Suba South MP Caroli Omondi said the new political formation would focus on addressing what he described as Kenya's problems of inequality, corruption and tribalism.
“We remain a fractured nation, but the greatest challenge of all remains the inability of successive governments not to establish an administration or to anchor our country on our national values,” Omondi said.
He said the new political vehicle would build structures and roll out programmes aimed at uniting Kenyans across generations.
“In this journey to deliver this change, we are going to be led by one leader. We are going to have one presidential candidate,” he said.
Former LSK president Faith Odhiambo said the launch was about more than creating another political party, arguing that Kenyans were tired of what she described as old political promises and political arrangements.
She said the new formation would seek to uphold the rule of law, the Constitution and citizens' rights.
Kabuchai MP Majimbo Kalasinga called for TEP to develop a national character and include communities from across the country.
“We want a party that will have all tribes in this party,” he said, adding that the party should have broad representation in its national positions.
Kalasinga also invited other political formations to join what he described as a “big river”, saying smaller political movements could merge with the new vehicle.
The launch comes as political parties and leaders position themselves ahead of the 2027 General Election, with Sifuna now having a formal party structure through which his presidential campaign can be organised.