CMD to challenge small parties’ exclusion from funding

CMD-Kenya Chairman Omingo Magara disagreed with the judgement issued by Justice David Majanja on February 3 and maintained that Section 25(2) (a) of the Political Parties Act, 2011 contravenes the Constitution/FILE

CMD-Kenya Chairman Omingo Magara disagreed with the judgement issued by Justice David Majanja on February 3 and maintained that Section 25(2) (a) of the Political Parties Act, 2011 contravenes the Constitution.

“The Act pronounces that you must get a minimum of five percent of total votes cast for you to access funding. But the Constitution guarantees equality and the protection of the rights of the marginalised and where there is a conflict between the two, the Constitution always takes precedence,” he argued.

Magara said CMD-Kenya will be looking for the Court of Appeal to declare Section 25(2) (a) null and void thereby declaring that all political parties should be able to access the Political Parties Fund.

“We’re not saying we want every party to receive an equal amount. We are saying we want a minimum benchmark figure of 20 percent spread across all political parties,” he said.

Toward this end he said they were also lobbying parliamentarians, especially of the three parties that currently qualify for the Fund, to amend the offensive section of the Political Parties Act.

“The biggest parties today could be the small parties tomorrow. Where is PNU today? It was a presidential party, so was KANU. So if you are making laws they must be friendly to you when you’re in power and when you’re not,” he said.

As things stand, only The National Alliance (TNA), the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) and the United Republican Party (URP) qualify for the fund having garnered 29.76 percent, 26.12 percent and 9.39 of the total votes cast in the March 4, 2013 general election.

The three political parties successfully opposed inclusion of the smaller parties in the Fund during the CMD-Kenya backed case.

“ODM welcomes the decision by Justice Majanja making it very clear that political parties are entitled to receive monies allocated to them in accordance with the Constitution and established law. In that regard the ODM demands that the Registrar of Political Parties moves with speed to disburse funds to qualifying political party accounts,” ODM Secretary General Anyang’ Nyong’o demanded following Majanja’s ruling.

About The Author

OLIVE BURROWS

With a decade of storytelling under her belt, Olive Burrows has been with Capital FM for the last four years and perhaps most notably interviewed US President Barack Obama. Committed to asking the hard questions and telling the story in the most engaging way possible, she has also interviewed Melinda Gates, a UK Minister and severally had the opportunity to sit across from President Uhuru Kenyatta and address the pressing issues of the day. Other notables she has had occasion to seek answers from are UN Secretary General António Guterres and John Kerry in his time as US Secretary of State.

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