Registrar of Political Parties Reveals Over 30 New Parties Formed Ahead of 2022 Election Contest

Acting Registrar of Political Parties Anne Nderitu has revealed that over 30 new political parties seeking registration have been formed ahead of 2022 general election.

According to Nderitu, she expects that the next elections will be a hotly contested battle considering that she started receiving the applications  soon after the August 2017 elections.

“There could be more applications. Applicants are required to make an application for a proposed party name for the reservation. 32 names have been reserved after name search,” she stated.

Pundits have attributed the formation of new parties to infighting that has been rocking Jubilee and other major parties, as politicians seek alternative vehicles just in case their current parties fail to hold until 2022. 

However, political analyst and High Court Advocate Martin Oloo attributes the formation of political parties, ahead of 2022, to lack of political accountability. 

“We don’t have political parties in Kenya but political players. There are no ideologies. The parties are simply formed for convenience and once they have served their purpose, they are discarded,” Oloo commented.

Among the new parties, Civic Renewal Party, United Green Movement, and Umoja Summit Party have provisional registration certificates. Six others are said to be awaiting full registration. 

Reports by the Standard indicate that top presidential contenders or powerful figures around them could be behind the new outfits, as has always been the case.

Furthermore, some of the people forming parties are said to have their sights on the Political Parties Fund.  

Presently, Kenya has 66 registered political parties. However, only Jubilee and ODM qualify for the Political Parties Fund. The fund is based on the number of seats a party wins and votes cast for the parties’ candidates. 

The Political Parties Act 2011, which established the Political Parties Fund, dictates that not less than 0.3 per cent of a national revenue is allocated to political parties.

However, Treasury has only been allocating Ksh 371 million to the fund each year since 2015, instead of Ksh3.6 billion as provided for by law.

Treasury CS Henry Rotich now wants the funds to be slashed  arguing that the country cannot give 0.3 per cent of its revenues to ODM and Jubilee without hurting counties and national government operations.

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