Homa Bay Governor Gladys Wanga has declared that residents of Migori have thrown their support behind President William Ruto’s re-election bid, citing development projects and improved service delivery under the broad-based government.
Wanga, who is also the ODM national chairperson, said the people of Migori had made their decision after witnessing what she described as tangible development delivered through the partnership between ODM leaders and the Ruto administration.
“The people have made their decision,” Wanga said in a statement on Wednesday.
“The residents of Migori, having witnessed real development and improved service delivery through our partnership with President William Ruto, are now fully supportive of the Broad-Based Coalition and the President's reelection.”
Her remarks came as Ruto concluded his tour of Nyanza, where he has used government projects and his working relationship with ODM leaders to make the case for continued cooperation ahead of the 2027 General Election.
The President’s four-day tour took him through Kisumu, Siaya, Migori and Homa Bay, where he inspected and launched infrastructure projects while meeting local leaders and residents.
In Migori, Ruto was scheduled to inspect several national government projects, including the Stella-Sibuoche-Gogo road in Uriri and the Kanyawanga-Kwoyo-Madiaba road in Awendo, as well as projects in Kuria West and Suna East constituencies.
Wanga’s statement adds to a series of declarations by senior ODM leaders backing the party’s continued cooperation with Ruto.
Speaking in Kisumu at the beginning of Ruto’s Nyanza tour, Wanga said the ODM leadership had made a decision to work with the President and that the arrangement was not simply about individual politicians.
“All the leaders of ODM are here except one. If you do the arithmetic, we are here 99.99 per cent,” Wanga said.
She said ODM would enter negotiations with the government over the party’s share of power while maintaining its participation in the broad-based administration.
“We will get in and do negotiations. Tutakua tumejipanga. We will negotiate for the rightful share of the ODM party,” she said.
Ruto has similarly indicated that his partnership with ODM will continue into the next political cycle, saying the two sides would negotiate the shape of the next government.
“We will sit and negotiate to form the next government. Do not be worried. The person you will be negotiating with is a former deputy party leader of ODM. Where is the problem? There is no problem. We will walk together,” Ruto said in Kisumu.
Wanga has in recent days repeatedly defended ODM’s decision to work with Ruto, arguing that the party’s priority is to secure development and opportunities for communities that have historically felt left out of government.
She has also rejected attempts by other political actors to dictate ODM’s political direction, saying the party would make its own decisions as it prepares for the 2027 elections.
The ODM chairperson’s latest declaration places Migori among the Nyanza counties where the political relationship between the ruling administration and ODM is being publicly tested ahead of the 2027 contest.
Her assertion that Migori residents have already made their choice is a political claim by the ODM chairperson; no independent countywide measure establishing the position of all Migori residents was cited in her statement.
Ruto has sought to make development and the record of the broad-based administration central to his political message during the Nyanza tour, telling residents that the government should be judged on its track record.
