NAIROBI, Kenya, Jul 22 – An online platform allowing Kenyans to vote for the opposition’s preferred 2027 presidential flag bearer will go live on Saturday, with organisers saying it has already repelled more than 4,000 hacking attempts ahead of the exercise.
The Wantam movement said wantamcandidate.com will be open on July 25 and 26, allowing members of the public to participate in selecting a single opposition candidate to challenge President William Ruto in the 2027 General Election.
Speaking on Wednesday, Wantam movement convenor Francis Masinde described the initiative as an effort to democratise the process of identifying the opposition’s presidential candidate by placing the decision in the hands of ordinary Kenyans rather than political leaders alone.
“The process of selecting the opposition flag bearer is too important to be left to politicians alone. In the next two days, millions of Kenyans will have an opportunity to log in to wantamcandidate.com to elect who will run against William Ruto,” Masinde said.
He said the organisers had invested heavily in securing the platform, revealing that it had already faced thousands of attempted cyberattacks before its official launch.
“We have had about 4,000 attempts to hack the platform. The results will be tamper-proof and will reflect the voice of the people,” he said.
Masinde said the movement is independently funded and aims to amplify public participation in shaping the opposition’s leadership ahead of the 2027 elections.
“We are not funded by government and we are ready to amplify the voices of Kenyans on the need for public participation in having a voice in who will run against Ruto,” he said.
He added that the movement had held consultations with several opposition leaders to explain the initiative and reassure them that the process was not intended to favour any particular candidate.
“We have had meetings with a number of political players and we have told them there’s nothing to worry about. We have met Kalonzo and we have told him he has nothing to worry about,” Masinde said.
Also speaking at the briefing, Wantam official Benji Ndolo said the online vote is intended to strengthen democratic participation by giving Kenyans a direct role in determining who should carry the opposition’s presidential ticket.
“This is an open process that allows Kenyans to enhance democracy and gives them an opportunity to participate in choosing who will be their flag bearer,” Ndolo said.
The digital voting exercise follows the launch of the Wantam Advisory Committee, which is spearheading efforts to identify a single opposition candidate to face President Ruto in the 2027 General Election through a public online vote.
Voting is scheduled to run over two days, beginning Saturday, with organisers promising a secure, transparent and independently managed process.
