The race for the 2027 presidential vote is already taking shape in the voter register, with Homa Bay Town MP Peter Kaluma pointing to a surge in registration in Nyanza as evidence that the Luo voting bloc could reach at least four million.
Speakin gon Wednesday at Radio Generation, Kaluma said Homa Bay alone had added about 165,000 registered voters since the 2022 General Election, rising from roughly 551,000 to 716,000 by September 22, 2026, with the registration exercise still underway.
He said the increase was not confined to Homa Bay, citing similar registration activity in other parts of Nyanza and several regions across the country.
“For instance, today in Homa Bay, we have come from 551,000 in 2022. And currently, we are 716,000 by yesterday, and people are still registering,” he said.
The ODM MP said the growing number of registered voters pointed to a potentially larger voting bloc by the time Kenyans go to the polls in 2027.
He said the figures being recorded were behind his projection that the Luo community could consolidate at least four million votes for its preferred presidential candidate.
“We are serious about it, and we know how the statistics are moving. You think that the Luo vote is now at four million? No. By the next election, whoever we are going to vote for will get a minimum of four million,” Kaluma said.
Kaluma attributed the increase in registration partly to efforts to address challenges that had previously made it difficult for some people in border communities to obtain identification documents and register as voters.
He specifically referred to some Suba communities, saying young people had in the past faced additional requirements when applying for identification documents.
According to the MP, some applicants were required to produce their parents’ identification documents and thumbprints before they could obtain their own identification documents.
“We have addressed a bit of that, and there is a very high uptake going on now,” he said.
Kaluma said the higher registration numbers were also being recorded in other parts of Nyanza, with Kisumu, Siaya and Migori among the areas he cited.
“What I’m telling you is happening in Kisumu City is what is happening in Siaya, it’s what is happening in Migori, it’s what is happening in Kisumu,” Kaluma said.
The Homa Bay MP also pointed to increased voter registration in other parts of the country, including the North Rift, Northeastern, Coast, Ukambani and Nairobi.
He said populations in some border areas that had previously not been registered were increasingly obtaining identification documents and subsequently registering as voters.
Kaluma maintained that his four-million-vote figure was a projection based on the voter-registration trends he said were emerging, rather than a claim that the Luo community currently has four million registered voters or votes.
His remarks come as political positioning gathers pace ahead of the 2027 General Election, with parties and political leaders seeking to build support across different regions.
Kaluma has previously made a similar four-million-vote projection concerning the Luo community and President William Ruto’s 2027 presidential bid.