The Public Service Commission (PSC) has published the names of 10 candidates shortlisted for interviews to fill the Registrar of Political Parties position.
The commission further published another 12 names of candidates who have been shortlisted for the position of assistant Registrar of Political Parties. There will be three posts for this office.
“Following the conclusion of the shortlisting exercise, the commission publishes the names and the interview schedule for the shortlisted candidates and calls on public participation requesting for comments on any of the candidates,” PSC said in a paid advert in the dailies on Friday.
The commission noted that it received 88 applications for the Registrar of Political Parties position and 686 for the assistant Registrar of Political Parties.
Acting Registrar of Political Parties Ann Nderitu is among those who have been shortlisted for the top seat at the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties.
Others are Kennedy Mosoti, Murshid Mohammed, Mary Kigen, Edwin Ngetich, Henry Rithaa, Edith King’ori, Lukas Mwanza and Sheila Yieke.
Interviews for the Registrar of Political Parties are scheduled for June 29, 2020 while those for the assistant Registrar of Political Parties will be held on June 30 and July 1.
The announcement by PSC came barely a day after the Centre for Multi-party Democracy (CMD) called on the commission to expedite the recruitment of the Registrar of Political Parties.
The chairperson of CMD board Abshiro Soka Halake said having a substantive registrar will form a strong foundation for regulation, supervision and management of political parties to deliver a vibrant multiparty democratic country.
The Office of Registrar of Political Parties (ORPP) has been held by Lucy Ndung’u and Nderitu in acting capacity since it was established in line with the requirement of the 2010 Constitution.
Nderitu was officially appointed as the acting Registrar of Political Parties on August 10, 2018.
Halake observed that to achieve a united country, stakeholders must tackle indiscipline and lack of order in political parties head-on.
“Being in an acting capacity, the Registrar has been considered as weak, ineffective or a disinterested public officer, when sometimes it has been the case of intimidation by or fear of reprisals from the political class,” he said.
The Kanu nominated senator added that CMD has noted with great concern that the country’s multiparty democracy is increasingly faced by the problem of nondemocratic practices in political parties.
In recent weeks, ORPP has been a hive of activities in the recent weeks as warring factions in Jubilee and Ford Kenya tussle over leadership positions.
Jubilee has been embroiled in wrangles over changes to the National Management Committee while Ford Kenya is in a crisis following the purported ousting of some top party officials.
PSC advertised the position of Registrar of Political Parties almost 10 years after the law came into force. The commission had asked those interested in the job to submit their applications by May 21, 2020.
It is the second time the PSC has advertised the jobs. The first was in October 2012 but the process was cancelled after it was challenged in court by civil society groups.
