Why DP Ruto is opposed to parties Bill

Deputy President William Ruto on Tuesday urged MPs to reject the Political Parties (Amendment) Bill, 2021, saying it was a plot by his opponents to force coalitions.

He accused ODM party leader Raila Odinga of plotting to use the Bill to force unwilling coalition partners, who he said were reluctant after past betrayal, to back his State House bid.

The DP spoke as Parliament prepares to hold a special sitting on December 29 to discuss the proposed changes to the law that will, among other things, guide on how coalitions will be formed in the run-up to the 2022 General Election.

The DP said MPs should only pass laws that will protect everyone’s right, saying, some of the clauses in the proposed Bill were being sneaked in out of deceit.

“Because you have reached the end, and you now want to tell us to pass a law to ensure you do not con us again in future, we want to ask you to first of all remove the deceit in the proposed law. They have hit the corner. Because they cannot get people to merge with them because they have deceived people in the past, they now want MPs to help them to force coalitions,” the DP said.

He took issue with a proposal to give the Registrar of Political Parties (RPP) powers to determine how parties run their nominations.

Why nobody trusts them

“Let us not bring in an imperial Registrar of Political Parties. Let that office not micromanage parties. Let parties be free to do their nominations,” the DP said during the official opening of the Turbo CDF office and handing over of school buses at Jua Kali, Turbo Constituency.

“These individuals are known for political conmanship and deceit, that is why nobody trusts them. When they approach any leader, they are turned down because of their deceit and conmanship. It seems they are running out of ideas,” added the DP.

The Bill also gives the Registrar of Political Parties powers to share out state funds among individual parties within a coalition based on their respective contributions to a presidential candidate’s votes.

Turbo MP Janet Sitienei and her Mosop counterpart Vincent Tuwei vowed to vote against the Bill.

“On Wednesday, we will ensure that the rights of all Kenyans are protected. We will vote to reject those proposed changes,” said Ms Sitienei, who was elected as independent MP but plans to defend her seat on UDA party.

The DP further, without naming the political parties, alleged that there was a plot to prop up regional parties to divide the country to undermine his political support.

“We have agreed that out party is UDA. This is a national party that promotes unity of all Kenyans. Already, there are 160 MPs who are supporting UDA. We are aware of a scheme to promote regional parties to divide Kenyans.”