Embakasi East Member of Parliament (MP) Paul Ongili popularly known as Babu Owino has endorsed Wiper party leader Kalonzo Musyoka for the 2027 Presidency, as the race to unseat incumbent President William Ruto heats up.
Speaking Monday, September 29, Babu accused President Ruto of failing to bring the country together, creating divisions, underperforming and failing the citizenry with a rising cost of living crisis, despite his pre-election promises to empower the common mwananchi.
The lawmaker, urged Kenyans to register as voters so that they can remove President Ruto from power and support Kalonzo Musyoka instead.
According to Babu, Ruto has failed because he is busy antagonising the country instead of organising it.”
“You must register as a voter so that we disappoint Ruto and appoint Kalonzo because Ruto is busy antagonising this country instead of organising it,” Babu said.
He defended Kalonzo Musyoka, saying that when he was in Azimio, he was seen as good, but now in opposition, some call him bad. Babu insisted Kalonzo “ametosha.”
The vocal Mp, said Kalonzo is the person he believes can unite the country and fix what he described as poor leadership under the current administration.
He compared past elections in Kenya and abroad to what he believes will happen in 2027, saying that in 2020, Americans voted out Donald Trump rather than voting in Joe Biden, and in 2002, Kenyans voted out Daniel arap Moi rather than voting in Mwai Kibaki.
According to him, the 2027 election will follow the same pattern, with voters focusing on removing President Ruto.
The MP insisted that the goal should be to prepare early so that when the election comes, the outcome reflects the will of the people.
Register as Voters.
Babu, sent a special appeal to the youth, urging them to register as voters. He noted that the ballot is the only way to remove President Ruto from power.
His remarks come as the enlisting of new voters begins and many view the youth—particularly Generation Z—as a critical demographic that could shape the outcome of the 2027 election.
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) is resuming the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise from today as part of its preparations for the 2027 General Election.
In a public notice, the commission urged all eligible Kenyans to register at any IEBC constituency office, except in areas currently undergoing by-elections.
The services available during the CVR exercise include new voter registration, correction or update of voter details, transfer of registration to a new polling station or constituency and verification of voter information.
To qualify for registration, one must be a Kenyan citizen aged 18 years and above, possess a valid Kenyan National ID or valid passport, not previously registered as a voter, not convicted of an election offence in the past five years and not declared to be of unsound mind.
IEBC Chairperson Erastus Ethekon has previously said the registration drive aims to expand Kenya’s voter base from the current 22.1 million to include an estimated 6.3 million new voters.
“Our projection is not based on census data, as was the case in past cycles, but on records from the National Registration Bureau,” Ethekon said.
“We anticipate registering all Kenyans who will have attained voting age by the time of the exercise.”
The commission has allocated Sh8 billion—part of its total Sh57.3 billion election budget—to support the voter registration exercise. Additional allocations include Sh2.5 billion for stakeholder engagement and voter education, Sh7 billion for replacing ageing KIEMS kits (Kenya Integrated Elections Management System) and Sh2.4 billion for system maintenance.
A Political analyst who spoke to Julisha.co.ke said that young people will be the determinant of the elections because the youth vote will account for over 10Million voters.
As of 2022, youth constituted 39.8 Per cent of registered voters, totalling 8.8 Million. The Kenya National Bureau of statics estimates that in 2024, the country had 5,670,020 youth aged between 15 and 19, most of who are now eligible to receive voter cards. That, coupled with the huge demographic aged 30 and below, has analysts predicting a shift in Kenya’s electoral process. Politicians are keen on the voter registration exercise because they have lost control of the political narrative in the country, and they are not able to tell the way the emerging new voters will choose leaders.