The Equitable Party (TEP) has surpassed one million members in less than 24 hours after becoming the political vehicle of the Linda Mwananchi Movement, signalling an aggressive push to build a national grassroots network ahead of Kenya’s 2027 General Election.
Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale shared the membership claim on X on Monday, October 5, 2026, saying Kenyans were joining the party in large numbers following its adoption by the Linda Mwananchi camp.
“It is not even 24 hours since Linda Mwananchi took over The Equitable Party. And now look how Kenyans are registering to join in their millions,” Khalwale said.
He accompanied the post with a membership record appearing to show an active TEP member with membership number 1,084,736.
The record showed that the member was registered on October 4, 2026, in Kiambaa Constituency, Kiambu County, and identified Muchatha Ward as the ward of registration.
The membership drive follows the unveiling of Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna as TEP leader and presidential candidate for the 2027 election.
TEP is not a newly registered political party. Records from the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties (ORPP) show that it was registered on March 25, 2022, under certificate serial number 100.
The party is listed with the slogan “Tusawazishe”, meaning “Let us equalise”, and has a weighing scale as its official symbol, with gold and emerald as its registered colours.
The party's stated political programme focuses on economic and social justice, equitable distribution of national resources and greater participation of citizens and communities in development.
Its official vision is to establish an equitable, prosperous, industrialised and modern Kenya in which citizens enjoy social, economic and democratic rights.
TEP's emergence as the political vehicle for Linda Mwananchi follows months of political activity around Sifuna's presidential ambitions.
On October 4, party officials announced that its leadership would be restructured to accommodate Sifuna and his allies, with party leader Gilbert Marava confirming that Sifuna would lead the party and seek the presidency on its ticket.
The movement has also secured approval to reserve the name Linda Mwananchi Movement, paving the way for plans to rebrand TEP.
The reservation itself does not create a new political party, with the movement instead seeking to change the name of the existing TEP structure.
The reported membership surge therefore marks an important test for Sifuna's political project as it moves from a political movement into a formal party structure.
TEP has also encouraged Kenyans to register through the ORPP's digital system using the party's code, reflecting the growing use of technology in political mobilisation.
Reports indicate the party had publicly set a target of reaching one million members by Monday evening.
However, a large membership register does not automatically translate into electoral support.
The party will need to maintain the reported membership, establish functioning structures across the country and convert registration numbers into active grassroots organisation ahead of the 2027 polls.
The development also comes as opposition leaders continue to debate how to consolidate their forces against President William Ruto.
Sifuna's adoption of TEP gives the Linda Mwananchi movement a formal political platform, but the emergence of another presidential vehicle could also complicate wider opposition negotiations over alliances and a single candidate.
For now, the one-million-member claim places TEP at the centre of Kenya's rapidly shifting political landscape, with the party's ability to verify, sustain and organise its reported membership likely to determine whether the latest surge becomes a meaningful electoral force in 2027.