Kindiki said the presidential and general elections would be held on schedule and without shortcuts, in line with Kenya’s constitutional order.
“We want to assure our partners that the Government of Kenya under President Ruto believes in democracy, rule of law and all the other things that underpin our constitutional order. We want to assure the world that Kenya will have free, fair and verifiable elections next year,” Kindiki said.
Kindiki spoke on Wednesday when he co-chaired the 15th Development Partnership Forum with United Nations Resident Coordinator Garry Conille and Germany’s Ambassador to Kenya Sebastian Groth at the Official Residence in Karen, Nairobi.
Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, Cabinet Secretaries, Principal Secretaries, representatives of international and humanitarian agencies, as well as members of independent offices and commissions, attended the forum.
Kindiki urged development partners interested in supporting democracy and elections to work through established procedures and official channels.
“There will be no compromise on the credibility of the election,” he said.
The Deputy President said development partners could support the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, civil society organisations or participate in the 2027 polls as election observers.
Kindiki also maintained that Kenyans would continue to enjoy constitutional freedoms as the country approaches the elections.
“Kenya is a very vibrant democracy. We take a lot of pride in our democratic credentials,” he said, adding that the country allows open engagement through traditional and social media.
Mudavadi backed the assurance, saying Kenya had an established tradition of holding elections within the constitutional timetable.
“We have had a tradition of ensuring our elections are held on schedule. We do not intend to breach the tradition we have already established. We will have elections on schedule and will be constitutional,” Mudavadi said.
Kindiki’s latest remarks come after previous assurances from senior government officials regarding the conduct of the 2027 elections. In May, he said President William Ruto and the Kenya Kwanza administration would not interfere with the electoral process and that voters’ decisions should be respected.
The Deputy President has also said the government would seek to retain power in 2027 based on its development record, as political activity around the elections intensifies.
Beyond the elections, Kindiki called on development partners to support preparations for forecast El Nino rains expected from October.
He said the government had established a multi-agency preparedness team and would engage development partners on ways of strengthening measures aimed at minimising losses and damage.
“I call upon the development partners to see whether they can re-programme some of their resources around humanitarian and resilience programmes to help us converge efforts on preparations to mitigate loss and damage,” he said.
The forum also focused on youth and development, with Kindiki calling for development partnerships to translate into employment opportunities, entrepreneurship, skills development, access to finance, innovation and greater participation in the digital economy.
