“691” is the number of aspirants in Nakuru who have registered to vie for different elective positions under the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party come 2027.

This number places Nakuru county in the second position with highest number of UDA aspirants after Nairobi, which has 968 aspirants.

Governor Susan Kihika, Hillary Kipgeno, and Joseph Rotich will face off for the party ticket, while the senate seat has attracted 13 aspirants, woman rep has attracted 12 aspirants, MP has attracted 77 aspirants, and MCA has attracted 586 aspirants.

Nakuru County is usually regarded as part of Mount Kenya region, most of which have registered very low numbers of aspirants.

Counties such as the neighboring Nyandarua recorded as low as 93 aspirants, Nyeri (204) and Muranga (295).

Bernad Koros, alias “Ruto wa Nakuru,” an aspirant vying for MCA Menengai West Ward, says that the number still proves that a majority of people in Nakuru still believe in the ruling party.

“Numbers don’t lie, if you look at the number of people who have chosen to vie for political seats under the UDA party it shows the confidence the people still have in the party.”

He says that Nakuru stopped being a Mount Kenya voting bloc a while back and that Nakuru is a representation of the entire country.

“I think that notion was deconstructed a long time ago, and Nakuru being a cosmopolitan region and a reflection of the entire country. Therefore, those looking to sway for votes in Nakuru using tribal lines will not succeed.”

Kennedy Langat, an aspirant for the Nakuru Town West seat also echoes the sentiments of Bernard and he insists the reason why Nakuru was able to attract so many aspirants is because of a strong party.

“UDA is one of the biggest parties in Kenya and Nakuru people like associating themselves with winners and that is what UDA presents, therefore the high number of aspirants should not come as a surprise,” he says.

“Nakuru is regarded as the political capital of the country, even though it may not seem like it, but most people still prefer the ruling party because of its track record and with time this will catch on even in other counties,” he says.

Ezekiel Kamau, a political analyst, begs to differ with the two aspirants arguing that individuals were being paid off to be aspirants.

“I do not think that was a true representation of what is on the ground, there are those who chose to register as aspirants since they knew they would be paid to do so therefore many of them chose to do so simply because of that, however when time comes for nominations, they will be nowhere to be seen,” he says.

He says that at the moment Nakuru is very unpredictable and UDA having a high number of aspirants does not really point to anything.

“We have the United Opposition factor, which is still in the works and looking at the future, it will be a huge decider as it will also carry some sway,” he says.

County Secretary Samuel Mwaura, six county executives among county officers seeking elective posts on UDA ticket

Author Spotlight

Bret Sanya