Enter the PRM Party, new kid on the block

Saboti MP Caleb Amisi on Tuesday launched his political party, the People’s Renaissance Movement (PRM), at an event marked by calls for political cooperation and opposition to President William Ruto.

This adds to the growing number of political parties ahead of the general election.

“This fourth liberation is a duty of our generation. The past three generations rose and did what needed to be done. We are now being called as a generation to rise with enthusiasm, charisma, courage and patriotism to do what needs to be done today,” the Saboti MP said.

But beneath the speeches and calls for unity lay a more intriguing question of whether PRM will ultimately become the political home for Linda Mwananchi brigade led by Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna whose efforts to convert the movement into a party have run into headwinds.

The question, as is the answer, is complicated by timing.

Kenya’s electoral calendar is already ticking towards the next General Election, scheduled for the second Tuesday of August 2027. That is now less than a year away.

The Constitution and electoral laws impose restrictions on the registration of new political parties in the period immediately preceding a general election. The Political Parties Act also places the registration of political parties within a defined electoral timetable.

There is another complication: the name Linda Mwananchi is understood to face an existing registration issue, raising questions about whether the political outfit associated with the movement has secured the name it would need to contest the election under its preferred identity.