NAIROBI, July 18 – The Democratic Party of Kenya (DP) Secretary General George Nyamweya Friday announced that he had ditched the party to take up a position in the Party of National Unity (PNU).
Addressing a press conference at the PNU headquarters, Nyamweya, who is the PNU spokesman, said he had to quit DP in order to conform to the Political Parties’ Act which bars individuals from holding positions in two different parties.
“I am no longer the Secretary General of DP, I am the PNU spokesman and I cannot hold any other position in another party. The President asked me to work towards formalising PNU,” he said.
He however said PNU was still open to both individual and corporate membership.
“When others start to understand this, they will realise if they had been elected to Parliament on a PNU ticket, they cannot go and hold positions in other parties, unless they want to go for by-elections,” Nyamweya emphasised.
Nyamweya said PNU affiliate parties wanting to quit were free to do so adding that there was no cause for alarm that the party was facing disputes.
He said it was the right of every party to ensure conformity to the Act within the remaining 163 days.
The Spokesman also reminded the constituent parties of PNU to decide if they would quit the union or join the party as individuals or corporate members since it allows either way.
“They are free to choose what they want, there is no one who is telling them that they have to stay here or there, it’s up to them to decide if they want to work closely with us,” he said.
He said that way PNU would be able to work towards forming a strong national party with a well structured membership.
However Nyamweya expressed doubts that most of the small parties would meet the requirements of the Political Parties Act, which would force them to dissolve.
He welcomed the Act saying it would help promote democracy within political parties especially during nominations, which he viewed as the most undemocratic processes.
Nyamweya who was nominated by PNU to Parliament also said the Act would streamline party structures and increase discipline to ensure parties are sustained with minimal movement.
Political parties were on July 1 given a deadline of 180 days to adhere to the Act, which seeks to ensure proper registration and facilitate party funding.
It also looks at the constitution of the parties, and their representation.
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