Nairobi Woman Representative Esther Passaris has abandoned her plan to contest the Makadara parliamentary seat and will instead seek to retain her position in the 2027 General Election. Passaris explained her decision on Monday, August 31, saying it followed consultations with Nairobi residents, the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) leadership and consideration of opinion polls. She said residents from across Nairobi had urged her not to leave the Woman Representative position, arguing that her mandate covered the entire county rather than a single constituency.

“My desire to serve Makadara was genuine, but everywhere I went across Nairobi, the message was the same: What about us? Don’t we matter? We don’t want to lose you as our Woman Rep, Mama,” Passaris said in a statement.

She said the feedback became particularly clear during engagements in different parts of Nairobi, where residents questioned why she intended to move from a countywide position to a constituency-based seat. Passaris said the decision was subsequently discussed with ODM officials before she settled on defending the Woman Representative position. Her explanation comes after she had earlier announced plans to contest the Makadara parliamentary seat in 2026. At the time, she said she wanted to move into constituency-level representation after serving as Nairobi Woman Representative. Passaris had also previously indicated that she did not intend to seek another term as Woman Representative, arguing that the position was established as an affirmative-action seat and that another woman should have an opportunity to serve. She later reversed that position and announced on August 22 that she would seek re-election as Nairobi Woman Representative.

Passaris said discussions with ODM leadership were another factor in her decision to abandon the Makadara bid. According to her, party officials encouraged her to remain in the Woman Representative race because ODM wanted to retain the Nairobi seat. Speaking on K24 TV’s Politalks programme on Monday, Passaris said party leaders told her the seat remained an ODM position and that the party was concerned about efforts by members of the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) to challenge for it. She said the party leadership considered her a strong candidate to retain the position.

“For me, it’s back to the Woman Rep seat, because that’s how I’m guided by my political party,” she said during the interview.

Passaris also linked her decision to the broader political arrangement between ODM and the Kenya Kwanza administration, saying she wanted to help keep the Nairobi Woman Representative seat within what she described as the broad-based political arrangement.

The decision means Passaris will seek a third term as Nairobi Woman Representative rather than challenge the incumbent Makadara MP. She has held the Nairobi Woman Representative position since 2017 and was re-elected in the 2022 General Election. Her return to the race is expected to make the Nairobi Woman Representative contest one of the closely watched countywide political contests ahead of the 2027 election, particularly as parties begin positioning candidates and building campaign structures. Passaris has said her priorities in Nairobi include affordable housing, addressing gender-based violence, family planning and economic empowerment. She has also identified the government’s affordable housing programme and a proposed gender-based violence safe house among issues she wants associated with her record in office.

For now, her decision removes her from the Makadara parliamentary contest and places her back in the race for the countywide Woman Representative position. The final decision, however, will rest with Nairobi voters when they go to the polls in the 2027 General Election.