The National Development Party (NDP) was a political party in

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

which was of national importance between 1994 and 2001. It was founded by Stephen Wilfred Omondi Oludhe.

Becoming Odinga's party

Being a minor political party, until 1994, NDP gained national prominence when

Raila Odinga Raila Amolo Odinga (born 7 January 1945) is a Kenyan politician who served as the Prime Minister of Kenya from 2008 to 2013. He was the Member of Parliament (Kenya), Member of Parliament (MP) for Langata Constituency from 1992 to 2013 and has ...

joined it after he left Ford-Kenya following his loss in the battle for leadership of that party to Michael Wamalwa. Odinga pulled Ford members of parliament from

Nyanza Province Nyanza Province (; ) was one of Kenya's eight administrative provinces before the formation of the 47 counties under the 2010 constitution. Six counties were organised in the area of the former province. The region is located in the southwes ...

with him. This spike in membership, which included Ford-K's Nyanza MPs, put NDP in the position of a major opposition party in the Kenyan parliament. The party managed to retain its strong position in Nyanza region mainly among the Luo population during the 1997 elections when it returned 21 members to parliament.

Co-operation and coalition with KANU

In 2000 NDP started to cooperate with the KANU-government of president

Daniel arap Moi Daniel Toroitich arap Moi ( ; 2 September 1924 – 4 February 2020) was a Kenyan politician who served as the second president of Kenya from 1978 to 2002. He is the country's longest-serving president to date. Moi previously served as the thi ...

. From June 2001 three MPs of NDP joined the cabinet, thus inaugurating the first coalition cabinet in Kenya's history.

2002 merger and split

In spring 2002 NDP merged with KANU. NDP leader Odinga became the Secretary-General of the united Party.http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/1878321.stm Merger shakes up Kenyan politics - ''BBC 18-03-2002 viewed on 5-01-2008'' This union was to be short-lived, as from summer 2002 it became obvious that arap Moi was determined to have

Uhuru Kenyatta Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta ( born 26 October 1961) is a Kenyan politician who served as the fourth president of Kenya from 2013 to 2022. The son of Jomo Kenyatta, Kenya's first president, he previously served as Prime Minister of Kenya, Deputy Pri ...

as his successor, which was confirmed by a KANU congress in October 2002. Odinga, who had been aware of manipulated lists of delegates, pulled out from the congress together with his followers from the former NDP and was joined by a number of KANU politicians who protested against Moi's manipulation of the party meeting in favour of his chosen candidate. Together, the group, which called itself the Rainbow Coalition, quit the ruling party and then joined the then-minor

Liberal Democratic Party Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party, Democratic Liberal Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties have usually followed liberalism as ideology, although they can vary widely from very progr ...

, which was to be one of the founding members of the

National Rainbow Coalition The National Rainbow Coalition (NARC) is a political party in Kenya. As an alliance, it was in power from 2002 and 2005 when it collapsed due to disagreements between members over a constitutional referendum. Formation In preparation of the 2002 ...

which went on to win the 2002 presidential and parliamentary elections.

References

{{Authority control Defunct political parties in Kenya Political parties established in 1991 1991 establishments in Kenya