• "We have seen a trend where so many independent candidates come on board to be cleared and in any case, it is hard to verify over 5,000 symbols," she said.
• Nderitu said the office had held consultations with the IEBC, Kenya Law Reform, Attorney General, Chief Justice and the Judicial Service Commission among other agencies and looked at the gaps in electoral reforms.
Image: PATRICK VIDIJA
The office of Registrar of Political Parties now says independent candidates should use their photos and initials of their names as their symbols.
The office said in many instances independent candidates come out in large numbers for clearance and it is overwhelming for the office to verify all the symbols.
Acting registrar Anne Nderitu on Wednesday said the office has made proposals for the amendments to be made to the Elections Act to allow the usage of photos.
"We have seen a trend where so many independent candidates come on board to be cleared and in any case, it is hard to verify over 5,000 symbols," she said.
Nderitu said the office had held consultations with the IEBC, Kenya Law Reform, Attorney General, Chief Justice and the Judicial Service Commission among other agencies and looked at the gaps in electoral reforms.
Nderitu was speaking during a webinar on Kenya's scorecard on electoral reforms ahead of the 2022 election.
She said if the proposal is accepted and passed, then it will be implemented for the first time in the 2022 election.
“The office of the registrar is always overwhelmed in terms of clearance; that is why we are looking at whether it is sustainable to use photos as symbols,” she said.
She said the office has also made a proposal for political parties to review how party primaries are conducted.
She said how party primary disputes are managed determines the outcomes of the upcoming election.
“There have been so many gaps in how these primaries are handled. We have drafted a bill that seeks to handle all the silent issues and rules of these party primaries,” she said.
Nderitu said there has been no law on how primaries should be conducted or managed, a situation that has contributed to chaos during the process.
“For instance, there is no clear guideline on what the role of the registrar of political parties is in the management of the primaries,” she said.
She added, “We need to have serious rules on party nominations. At what point are the timelines? Things have been done in a rush due to short timelines and this needs to change in modern times.”
She said the office has also proposed a review of the Elections Offences Act to include penalties to the code of conduct during party primaries.
Nderitu said another proposal touches on the Political Parties Fund.
She said that since only two major political parties are benefiting from the fund as it is, there has been an outcry from other parties, a situation that has seen them propose to have more on board.
"Another gap we have identified is to do with the party membership list. Though the law states the list should be organised in a proper manner, it remains silent on when it should be completed and handed to IEBC,” Nderitu said.
She said sometimes the membership list by parties differs from that of the IEBC, a gap that needs to be handled.
Nderitu said if the proposal is allowed, parties will be tasked to prove how their respective membership lists are made.
This she said will be key in closing gaps on complaints of people being members of a party without their consent.
Nderitu also said they have made proposals that will compel parties to strictly follow laid down procedures when expelling members from their membership list.
Nderitu said the proposals champion for fair administrative action for those involved.
“There must be at least some level of proof why the party intends to disown someone as their member,” she said.