Electoral Process: Political Parties Nominations Will be a Preview of the General Elections

The countdown to the next General Elections of 8th August 2017 has entered the next phase after the completion of the registration of voters.

The Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) is compiling the final tally of those who will vote in the next General Elections.

On Tuesday, it announced that it had enlisted 3,782,089 representing 62 percent of the 6.1 million voters it had intended to register as voters during the just concluded mass voter registration.

About 15.9 million voters’ names had been uploaded in the database pending verification and certification by June last year.

In due course IEBC, will open the Voters Register for voters who registered to confirm if they are on the Register and be weeded out.

Gazetting and certifying of the register will last 30 days before elections. Some 300 centres, whose names or locations have changed, will be amended and published in a gazette notice.

The IEBC will close the register on March 7 once the diaspora registration ends.

“Approximately, 3.2 million new voters will be added to the voter’s register after the register has been cleaned,” disclosed Wafula Chebukati, the IEBC Chair.

However, as the process continues, key institutions that will be at play this time is: the judiciary, the Register of Political Parties, the IEBC and the political parties.

The IEBC is currently receiving the political parties party nomination rules until March 6. Beginning March 26, the electoral body will be receiving names of candidates for party primaries until April 5 before they are gazetted.

The nominations for Senators, Members of Parliament, Governor, Women Representatives, and County Representatives for most political parties are slated to take place in April.

It is prudent to note that the Constitution gives Kenya a fairer electoral system through the establishment of a two-round system in the presidential elections and a first past the post system with gender quotas for the National Assembly, the senate and county assemblies.

Until then, this is the season for political aspirants to market themselves to the electorate.

The test of legitimate transparent, accountable nomination is that the parties ought to use the IEBC Register of those who registered as voters to be the basis of the persons to participate in the nomination of the competing prospective individual party contestants and to freely through secret ballot choose who will carry the respective party flags for the seats in contest.

Above all, the Registrar of Political Parties (RPP), Registered Political Parties and the Judiciary should be at the forefront in helping the electorate to discern which candidate has met the threshold of

Article 73 of Chapter 6 of the Constitution stipulates that the guiding principles of leadership and integrity include;

1. a) Selection on the basis of personal integrity, competence and suitability or election in free and fair elections
2. b) Objectivity and impartiality in decision making and in ensuring that decisions are not influenced by nepotism, favouritism, other improper motives or corrupt practices.
3. c) Selfless service based solely on the public interest demonstrated by:

• Honesty, in the execution of public duties and
• The declaration of any personal interest that may conflict with public duties

1. d) Accountability to the public for decisions and actions
2. e) Discipline and commitment in service to the people

The Political Parties Act (2011) creates an institution responsible for the regulation of political parties, the Registrar of Political Parties.

As the IEBC receives the party nomination rules, membership list and names of candidates for the party primaries, the Registrar of Political parties must ensure it enforces the law ensuring the parties are accountable.

What is required within the party nomination rules?

Party nomination rules must conform to the Political Parties Act and indicate how the party will attain gender parity in internal party nominations to elective seats as well as drawing up of party lists.

The party list emanates from political parties and must be in accordance with the Constitution and nomination rules of the party

 The rules must specify:

• The establishment and functions of a distinct organ to manage the elections.
• Identification of candidates and procedure for ensuring candidates meet the constitutional and legal qualifications for elective posts
• Procedure by which party conducts its nominations (party primaries)
• Procedure for ensuring candidates meet the constitutional and legal qualifications for elective posts
• Procedure for nomination to the party list
• Procedure for dispute resolution

Related: Becoming Kenya’s 5th President: The Road Ahead