Festus Ruto Challenges Equitable Party Name Change Over Procedure

Chepalungu parliamentary aspirant Festus Ruto has submitted a written objection to the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties seeking verification that The Equitable Party’s proposed rebranding to the Linda Mwananchi Movement complies with the Political Parties Act and the party’s own constitution.

In his filing, Ruto referenced Gazette Notice No 16427 and invoked Section 20 of the Political Parties Act, asking the registrar to confirm that all statutory steps have been observed before the name change can be approved.

He noted that the party’s National Executive Committee met on October 8 and passed a resolution to pursue the new name, and that the registrar received the meeting notice, a signed attendance list, the NEC resolution, statutory Form PP.10 and proof that the proposal was published in the Daily Nation on October 10 and on the party’s website.

Ruto argued that, despite the NEC resolution, no publicly available record shows that a National Delegates Conference had convened and approved the amendment by October 20, as required by Article 10.3 of The Equitable Party’s constitution, which reserves final approval of changes to the name, symbol, colours, constitution and rules for the NDC and sets a two-thirds voting threshold and specific quorum rules.

He asked the registrar to examine whether any NDC meeting was properly convened, with adequate notice, the correct delegate composition, a valid quorum and the prescribed voting majority, before the changes are recorded as final.

The rebranding effort is being led by Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna, who was introduced as the party’s leader and presidential candidate on October 4, 2026 ahead of the 2027 general election, and who has said the party will retain its existing identity if procedural obstacles remain.

Ruto’s objection follows a separate challenge filed on October 18 by the Liberty National Democratic Alliance, whose founder and treasurer Ndanu cited two unresolved cases before the Political Parties Disputes Tribunal (PPDTC/E020/2026 and PPDTA/E001/2026) and argued that proceeding with the name change while those matters are pending could be premature.

The registrar confirmed in a letter dated October 13 that it had reviewed the documents submitted by The Equitable Party and had begun the gazettement process under Section 20(1)(d) of the Act, while also requesting the party to report any public representations received after the statutory 14-day period following the newspaper publication.