MPs hand parties registrar sweeping powers over nominations

MPs have handed the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties sweeping powers to regulate operations of parties, including solving nomination disputes.

The National Assembly's approval of the Political Parties (Amendment) Bill, 2021 means that the Anne Nderitu-led office will have an extended mandate to superintend the nominations process.

Other powers that the ORPP will enjoy under the Bill include clearing the list that political parties will submit to the electoral commission containing names of possible nominees for MCA and MPs.

“A political party intending to submit a party list to the commission (IEBC) shall, at least 14 days before the submission to the commission, submit the party list to the registrar for certification,” the proposed law reads.

The ORPP will also certify party lists for the nomination of members into either Senate or National Assembly or County Assembly before parties submit them to the IEBC.

Currently, political parties forward party lists to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission without reference to the registrar's office.

This is meant to tighten the process of selecting nominated MPs, senators and MCAs, especially after Parliament approved a law requiring that ward reps be registered voters in their counties.

The registrar would also have to certify that independent candidates in an election are not members of political parties and that only members of coalition parties take part in their nominations.

The parties registrar will certify the nomination rules that have been submitted to the IEBC and further ensure that symbols proposed by independent candidates are different from those of political parties.

Parties would also be required to inform the registrar of the method it intends to use in conducting party nominations, albeit. as per the political party’s rules.

Political parties would be required to publish on their official websites, the dates and venues of the nominations.

“The registrar shall publish in the registrar's website the dates and venues of the political party's nominations, and cause the same to be published in the party’s official website.”

MPs also empowered the office to regulate political party nominations and for the first time since the history of the country’s politics, train political party election agents.

The ORPP is thus expected to come up with regulations prescribing the manner of conducting political party nominations.

“A political party that intends to conduct political party nominations shall use a certified register of members for the nominations.”

Parties would be required to apply—in writing, to the registrar for a certified copy of the members’ register at least 21 days before the date of the nomination.

“A political party shall not allow any person who is not a registered member of the political party to participate in the party nominations,” the proposed law reads.

In a departure from the current scenario where the IEBC plays a central regulatory role in resolution of disputes emanating from party nominations, the registrar is getting more powers to manage the process.

For instance, the registrar will have to certify the register of bona fide members of a political party before to ensure that only certified members participate in the nominations.

This means that in case there is a dispute emanating from the nominations, the registrar will be required to step in to handle such matters that touch on process of picking party candidates.

In the new dispensation, the registrar is also tasked with keeping and maintaining a clean register of members of a political party, with powers to update the same.

This means that should an aggrieved members of a party decide to quit, political parties would not have any authority to hold onto such individuals.

ORPP has also been empowered to manage political party records, with room to make changes where applicable through a political parties’ management information system.

Among the measures would be to ensure that no dead voters take part in the nominations as well as an update on resignations, expulsions, mergers of parties, and end of member’s citizenship.

To ensure political parties do not abuse personal data to enlist Kenyans without their knowledge, the office will have powers to recommend for prosecution of offenders.

"...the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties will recommend for prosecution of a person who enlists another person to be a member of a political party without obtaining the consent of that other person," reads the bill in part.

This means that stringent rules await political parties as they seek to conduct nominations, activities which have over time been marred by acts of violence and endless disputes.

-Edited by SKanyara