Politicians seeking to shift allegiance to other coalitions after the August 9 elections will have to terminate their initial pacts and resign from parties that sponsored them to win elective seats. The registrar of political parties, Anne Nderitu, says.
Nderitu acknowledged that members of political parties have the right to associate with any coalition but the law does not envisage a situation where a single party can be a signatory to more than one coalition.
Her response came in the wake of President-elect William Ruto wooing Azimio La Umoja leaders and independently elected politicians to his camp.
“They can associate however they want but they cannot be in two coalitions - they have to resign from one. So far, I have not received a request from any party that wants to leave a coalition,” Nderitu told The Standard.
The office of the Registrar of Political Parties is mandated to register and regulate political parties. In addition, it also administers political funds.
Azimio La Umoja presidential running mate, Martha Karua, insisted that the coalition still has the majority members in Parliament despite Ruto's charm offensive.
Jubilee secretary general, Jeremiah Kioni, also warned the party's members from joining Ruto's Kenya Kwanza. Jubilee is an affiliate to Azimio La Umoja.
“Know that you risk losing your seat whether it's at the county assembly or parliamentary seat for the law provides that,” Kioni responded to the exodus of MPs to Kenya Kwanza.
Spokesperson of the Raila Odinga’s campaign secretariat Makau Mutua also condemned the move, for what he termed as illegally inducing members into his camp.
“Ruto should know that it is illegal for him, or others, to induce members to purport to leave Azimio,” stated Makau Mutua arguing that Ruto wanted to take Kenya back to the one-party-state era.
Battle of numbers
The President-elect is seeking to marshal numbers ahead of the anticipated commencement of the 13th Parliament.
On Thursday- August 18, President-elect William Ruto welcomed a delegation of United Democratic Movement (UDM) leaders at his Karen Residence in what appeared to be a resolve to join forces.
Ruto also welcomed leaders from the United Party of Independence Alliance (UPIA) and Kenya African National Union (KANU) on Friday, August 19, with all three parties being affiliates of Azimio La Umoja.
Near Stalemate
After a hotly contested election, the two major political formations- Azimio and Kenya Kwanza were locked in a stalemate in regard to their numbers in the National Assembly.
None of the two factions managed to attain the absolute majority required to pass crucial. Raila Odinga’s Azimio la Umoja has 162 MPs while the Kenya Kwanza Alliance has 159 MPs.
However, the puzzle lies in determining which party or coalition will count as the majority side.
Despite a swift move by Kenya Kwanza to woo independent and non-aligned members, the law states that the majority side is the biggest party or coalition in Parliament.
