73% of ODM supporters back Sifuna-led Linda Mwananchi – TIFA Survey

In a survey conducted by TIFA, 73% of respondents expressed support for Sifuna’s faction, with party leader Oburu Oginga only getting 24% support for his Linda Ground. 

The pollster further established that “ODM supporters appear to favour a more independent, people-centred opposition approach rather than closer cooperation with the government”. 

This, TIFA says, was a reflection of the perceptions at the grassroots levels, where Kenyans prefer leaders who appear to defend public interest and hold the government to account. 

The split in the ODM party emerged shortly after the death of its founding leader, Raila Odinga, who died on October 15, 2025, while undergoing treatment at Devamatha hospital in India. 

Oburu, his elder brother, has since assumed the party leadership amid protests by a section of party members and leaders. 

While Oburu’s faction has maintained support for the broad-based agreement between the late Odinga and President William Ruto, Sifuna’s Linda Mwananchi advocates for autonomy that allows the party to cut ties with the Kenya Kwanza administration. 

This support for the broad-based government has further injured ODM’s public reputation, the Tifa survey has established. 

The pollster established that the agreement between Odinga and Ruto has led to disquiet within ODM as the country gears towards the 2027 general election. 

Tifa found that 56% of Kenyans oppose the broad-based agreement, with another 30% supporting it. The number of supporters had significantly dropped in August 2025. While the support for the agreement has dropped across the country, it remains constant in Northern Kenya. 

The broad-based government deal has been a bone of contention in the ODM party, with only the Oburu-led Linda Ground faction in support of it. 

Linda Ground is, however, seeking a return to the negotiation table to establish a new cooperation framework with President Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance (UDA).