A group of small political parties have renewed a push to access the Political Parties Fund through a petition to the National Assembly.
The coalition, spearheaded by National Liberal Party, which is led by Augustus Muli, is asking the National Assembly to amend Section 25 of the Political Parties Act, 2011 to allow fringe parties to secure fair access to the Political Parties Fund.
The act governs the distribution of the Fund and provides that a minimum of 0.3 per cent of the national revenue be allocated to the Political Parties Fund, which is administered by the Registrar of Political Parties.
They argue that the current funding formula unfairly locks out more than half of Kenya’s 91 registered parties despite their full compliance with legal requirements.
Muli said they had spoken to a number of MPs, whom he said agreed with their proposal.
“Out of 91 registered political parties, only 47 are funded. More than 50 parties, despite having offices and meeting all compliance requirements, get zero,” Muli decried.
Party of Independent Candidates of Kenya chairman Nelson Wambua said it is unfair to expect the parties to have at least 24 offices in counties across the country, have at least 1,000 members in each of the 24 counties, pay employees and put in place electoral plans without any coin from the government.
National Agenda Party chairman Alfayo Agufana argued that Kenya is a multiparty democracy, and they play the role of offering candidates platforms of running for office for representation, which contributes to the country’s democracy.
He said the petition seeks to cure the discriminatory funding formula that locks out the emerging and fringe parties and entrench genuine multiparty democracy.
“The 2010 Constitution makes Kenya a multi-party democracy, and provides that political parties should receive 0.03 per cent of the national revenue,” Agufana said.
“If this formula was applied, parties would be getting about Sh8 billion. But right now, we are only getting 1.4 per cent."
In June, the High Court in Nairobi dismissed a petition by Ford Asili Party vice chairperson Jane Florence Njiru seeking to compel the government to disburse public funds to all registered political parties.
Justice Lawrence Mugambi ruled that doing so would encourage the commercialisation of Kenya's political space.
Justice Mugambi upheld the status quo of the Political Parties Act, 2011, which requires a party to have at least one elected representative and physical offices in at least 24 counties to qualify for funding from the fund.
"It must not be lost in mind that the issue at hand is public funds," he ruled.
“These conditions are deliberately meant to protect public resources and guard against the mushrooming of briefcase political parties formed solely to draw off public money.”
He said Parliament had acted within its constitutional mandate in enacting the law, adding that there was no evidence of unconstitutionality or discrimination in the requirements.
"Those that seek to benefit from public coffers must demonstrate the capacity to compete and represent the electorate. Otherwise, there would be no point in funding moribund political entities just because they have participated in elections and got some votes," the judge said.
