Registrar blows nominations whistle as parties face tough new rules

The Registrar of Political Parties has blown the whistle and set the ball rolling for nominations as thousands of aspirants assemble their troops in readiness for campaign battles.

Ms Anne Nderitu yesterday, February 14 released a breakdown of key timelines that parties have to follow following the coming into law of the Political Parties (Amendment) Act.

It gives the registrar powers to certify member registration lists that will be used in the primaries. Previously, non-party members, as long as they were registered voters, were allowed to select candidates in party primaries. This has now been stopped by a new provision in law requiring that only those members in a list certified as such by the registrar should participate in nominations.

This provision is likely to cause chaos for both the Raila Odinga-led Azimio la Umoja movement and Deputy President William Ruto in his Kenya Kwanza Alliance in their respective strongholds.

In the past, so long as one was a registered voter in a constituency, they were allowed to participate in party primaries. Critics of this provision, however, say it gives advantage to party leaders to hand over certificates to their close allies since they are in control of the party lists.

While about 22.1 million Kenyans are registered to vote in the August polls, only a few are listed as members of political parties.

“April 22 is the end date for the primaries as per timelines of the Independent Electoral & Boundaries Commission. The nominations therefore begin anytime from today but have to be concluded as per the stated date,” Ms Nderitu told the Nation yesterday.

Parties have until March 26 to submit names of their members for the nominations process.

The law also allows parties to hand direct tickets through the delegates system. Parties have to write to the registrar of their intention to conduct primaries at least 21 days before the date of nominations. This means they have until April 1.

The registrar shall then issue the party with a certified copy of the register of its members within seven days. Parties should ensure the register is accessible to all members.

A party is also required to notify the registrar the method it intends to use for nominations at least 10 days early. They must state the date, venue and provide the list of aspirants. This means they have until April 12 to do this.

At least seven days before nominations, parties should publish dates and venues of their primaries on their website.

This is meant to avoid confusion on the venue and cure last minute disappointments, where a delegate thinks his name is on the party list only to be turned away at the polling station.

Parties will also ensure each aspirant deposits the self-declaration form of the Leadership and Integrity Act, 2012. They must meet the requirements as prescribed in the constitution.

Disputes arising from the nominations shall be resolved within 30 days. This means those aggrieved by the outcome will have until May 22 to seek redress before the final list of candidates is presented to the IEBC.

The IEBC had opposed these proposals, saying parties should be left to have a free hand in determining how the primaries are conducted, in line with their rules.

“These provisions appear to dictate how nominations will be carried out. It conflicts with provisions under the electoral laws that merely guide political parties on methods to be adopted and in so doing, gives the IEBC the mandate to review rules that will govern the nomination processes,” the IEBC said.

“The amendments (on how parties conduct nominations) usurps the commission’s mandate, notably in regulating party nomination processes where the commission has already developed the necessary regulations.”

Key highlights of the Political Parties Act

• Parties to write to the Registrar of their intention to conduct party primaries at least 21 days before the date of nominations.
• Registrar to issue the political party with a certified copy of the register of the political party’s members within seven days.
• Parties to notify the registrar not less than 10 days before the date of the party nomination, the method it intends to use for party nominations, date, venue and the party’s candidates.
• Political parties to at least seven days before the date of nominations, publish in their website dates and venues of their nominations.
• Disputes arising from the party nominations to be resolved within 30 days after nominations.

[email protected]