Kenyan Politicians Wrangle Over Political Parties Act

Deputy President William Ruto suffered a setback after National Assembly Deputy Speaker Moses Cheboi struck out amendments by MPs allied to him in the controversial 2021 Political parties Amendment Bill, writes Capital FM. The legislators had proposed amendments to enable the creation of a Political Parties Registration Board (PPRB) which will have a Chief Executive Board by insertion of a new clause in section 19A.

Amani National Congress (ANC) party leader Musalia Mudavadi has said he fully supports proposed amendments in the 2021 Political Parties Amendment Bill, that seeks to allow candidates to run on either coalition party tickets or individual parties, among other provisions. The bill sponsored by majority leader in the National Assembly Amos Kimunya, provides that in case of a coalition political party, the coalition agreement must be submitted at least six months prior to an election. According to the proposed law, the coalition party will be registered with the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties.

The Bill seeks to among others, provide for the formation of a coalition political party - an aspect which is among contested issues. The Bill has seen close to 17 members front amendments to the bill, with a majority of those allied to the deputy president seeking the amendment of all the clauses which they deemed unconstitutional.