IEBC Set to Implement the Campaign Financing Act of 2013

As the 2017 General Elections approach, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) says that it is set to ensuring that the Campaign Financing Act of 2013 is fully adhered to and implemented.

In a statement to newsrooms, the electoral body said that persons and political parties who wish to run for elective posts in the forthcoming General Elections will have to adhere to the rules and regulations stipulated in the Act concerning the financing of the campaigns.

The IEBC is mandated by Article 88 (4) (i) of the Kenyan Constitution to regulate the amount of money that may be spent by or on behalf of a candidate or political party in respect of any election and different stakeholders have been blaming the electoral body for failing to implement the law.

The National Parliament too passed an Electoral Campaign Financing Act of 2013 which among other things says that “The Commission (IEBC) may make regulations for the better performance of its functions under this Act, and such regulations shall be laid before the National Assembly before they are published in the Gazzette.”

The IEBC, however, laments that the National Parliament is yet to approve the draft regulations submitted before it on the 22^nd of July 2016 as stated in the same Act that the same National Assembly had passed.

According to the Act, section 6 obligates the commission to register authorized persons who are a candidate, agent of the candidate or political party campaign financing committee. The authorized persons are expected to submit the details of their campaign financing account to the commission at the time of registration and for the case of the 2017 General Election, the deadline was to be on 8^th of December 2016 (today Thursday).

The IEBC is calling on candidates and political parties to adhere to the deadline. The question is, will this be effected?