- Last Friday, Sirisia MP John Waluke decamped Ruto’s UDA wing for the ruling Jubilee.
- The legislator submitted his nomination papers to vie on the Jubilee ticket, dealing a blow to the DP.
Image: JOHN NALIANYA
The next five days will be defined for political aspirants as the deadline to join parties for hopefuls seeking to participate in the August 9 general election ends.
The lot has until Saturday to make up their minds – stick to the current parties or defect and join the outfits on whose tickets they seek to vie on in the upcoming polls.
Registrar of Political Parties Anne Nderitu has already declared that the political class seeking to change parties must do so within the timeline in line with the Political Parties (Amendment) Act, 2021.
The recently enacted law requires that any politician seeking to participate in the upcoming poll on a party ticket must belong to that party by March 26.
“This implies that if you are a president, deputy president, governor, deputy governor, MP or MCA, or an elected leader on another party ticket…then you should actually change your mind on the political party of your choice before the closing of that deadline,” Nderitu said recently.
The Act requires that 14 days before the party registrar is submitted to the IEBC, it should be submitted to the registrar of political parties for certification and then to the commission.
However, elected leaders currently in office do not have to resign from their positions even if they switch parties.
With the deadline, the political movements will likely hit a fever pitch as the hopeful realigns with popular parties ahead of the elections.
Already, several politicians have switched parties, some surprises in the past week.
Last Friday, Sirisia MP John Waluke decamped Ruto’s UDA wing for the ruling Jubilee.
The legislator submitted his nomination papers to vie on the Jubilee ticket, dealing a blow to the DP.
“Waluke is a Jubilee Party member and in fact, he has already paid his fees,” said Jeremiah Kioni, Jubilee party’s Secretary-General.
Waluke has been the DP’s foot soldier not only in Bungoma but the entire vote-rich Bungoma region.
Three MPs from Turkana also decamped the DP party.
They were Joyce Emanikor (woman representative), James Lomenen (Turkana South) and Lokiru Ali Mohammed (Turkana East).
“This is a big win for our party and the candidature of Raila Odinga. Ours is a democratic party that is ready to accommodate all,” Jubilee’s election director Kanini Kega as he received the MPs
The DP’s party, on the hand, has received tens of defectors mainly from the Jubilee party.
Ruto has been receiving several defectors from the ruling party to his new political house after he fell out with his boss, President Uhuru Kenyatta.
New fringe parties, among them DAP-Kenya, UDP, KUP, UDM and UPYA have also benefitted from the political defections as politicians shun big parties over apparent nomination fears.