NAIROBI, Kenya Mar 15 – Representatives from the Judiciary, Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, and Office of the Registrar of Political Parties were on Tuesday expected before the National Assembly to give their views on two proposed laws that seek to change the political landscape as the country moves towards the August Elections.
The Justice and Legal Affairs Committee led by Kangema MP Muturi Kigano called for public views on the Elections (Amendment) Bill and the Political Parties (Amendment) Bill, which was formally presented in the House before the adjourned for recess last week.
The Election (Amendment) Bill, 2021, seeks to amend the Elections Act, 2014 to allow a political candidate to be presented to the electorate, party or election ballot papers in the way in which the candidate has chosen to familiarise themselves to voters.
If the Bill is passed into law the ODM Leader Raila Odinga can have the name ‘Baba’ on the ballot or Chief Hustler for Deputy President William Ruto.
The Bill provides that a person shall not be nominated by a political party unless the person was a registered voter in any of the wards in the county in which the person is to be nominated.
Meanwhile, Minority Leader John Mbadi has proposed further amendments to the Political Parties (Amendment) Bill, which was approved by the National Assembly over the Christmas and New Year festive period before being referred to the Senate where it was passed.
Mbadi says the objective of his proposed amendments is to allow the concept of corporate membership which he says is important as it allows a political party to be a member of another political party without necessarily merging or forming a coalition and thus retain its identity.
“The Bill also seeks to recognize the different categories of membership to a political party. Political parties generally have different levels of membership, for example, life membership, Each membership level has different rights and obligations and there is a need to recognize the same in law,” read Bill’s memorandum of objects and reasons.
The Political Parties Act introduced the concept of coalition political parties, outlining functions of political parties as well as changing the criteria of accessing the Political Parties Fund.
The law also empowers the Registrar of Political Parties to certify political party membership lists and nomination rules among other transformative provisions aimed at strengthening management of political parties and enhancing democracy.
