The Jubilee administration has hatched a plan to have the negotiated Elections Laws, 2016, amended so it can campaign through various media platforms ahead of the August polls.
National Assembly Majority Leader Aden Duale yesterday tabled an amendment bill that seeks to delete a provision in the Election Offences Act, 2016, which bars the government from highlighting its achievements through the media in an election year.
“No government shall publish any advertisements of achievements of the respective government either in the print media, electronic media, or by way of banners or hoarding in public places during the election period,” Subsection 2 of Section 35 of the Elections Offences Act reads.
Jubilee says, however, that the provision violates the Constitution because it denies Kenyans the right to access information held by the state.
It adds that Article 35-3 of the Constitution allows the government to publish and publicise important information about the nation.
“The Bill seeks to delete Subsection 2, which limits the right of access to information held by the state as specified in the Article during the election period,” reads the proposed Election Offences (Amendment) Bill, 2017, which is due for Second Reading.
law flouted already
A 14-member joint select committee on IEBC reforms co-chaired by Senators James Orengo (Siaya) and Kiraitu Murungi (Meru) came up with the negotiated elections laws.
The laws were adopted by both Jubilee and the then Cord.
President Uhuru Kenyatta and the then-Cord leader Raila Odinga mobilised their foot soldiers to pass the laws without further amendments.
The move by Jubilee to delete the subjection is meant to allow it to campaign freely and ask voters to support it for another term.
Should the amendment pass, it will make room for the ruling party to use taxpayer money to publicise its gains.
Despite the existence of the law, Uhuru has been leading his Cabinet in highlighting the government’s achievements since 2013, through adverts on local TV stations — mainly a few minutes before and after the prime-time news.
The administration has launched an online public information platform — the Kenya Government Delivery Portal — through which it details its achievements in all sectors of the economy.