Political Aspirants Told To Declare Their Parties By March 26

Politicians seeking to contest for elective positions at the August General Elections under respective party tickets have been advised to make known their affiliations to the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties on or before March 26, 2022.

According to Registrar of Political Parties Anne Nderitu, the political hopefuls will be barred from participating in the polls, which are exactly 180 days from now, lest they contest as independent candidates.

“The Amendment Act says 14 days before the registrar is submitted to IEBC it should be submitted to the Registrar of Political Parties for certification and then the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC)…this translates to March 26, 2022,” Nderitu said on the JKLive show.

She however clarified that elected leaders, currently in office, will not be able to resign from their positions using the available e-citizen platform.

According to Nderitu, the resignations should first be made in writing to their respective parties and the National Assembly (for MPs) or county assemblies (for MCAs).

After confirming receipt from the aforementioned blocs, Nderitu’s office will then green-light their resignations.

The registrar continued on to say that her office is aware of a few incidences where members of the public and politicians alike have complained of being registered or deregistered from political outfits without giving their consent.

She sought to reassure Kenyans that her office had put in place measures to deter such similar future incidences.

“We have made it very easy for parties to register to any political parties they want via the e-citizen platform. So you can resign and join a political party of choice. Our system does not allow any person to remove you except with your consent. Soon we are also planning to unveil USSD codes which should be ready by next week,” she said.

Nderitu also clarified that politicians who have decamped from certain political outfits without tendering their official resignation papers are legally recognized as being part of their original parties.

She correspondingly chimed in on the Political Parties (Amendment) Bill, dismissing claims that little public participation was done before the recently passed law was tabled before Parliament.

Nderitu, likewise, emphasized that the role of the Auditor General would in no way be affected by the bill, contrary to what is being purported by its critics.

“The role of the AG is governed in other laws and the law is very clear on what he is expected to do. It does not remove this role,” she said.