Political parties oppose campaign financing rules

 

Political parties have rejected new campaign finance regulations expected to take effect Thursday midnight.

They want the regulations by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) suspended until Parliament endorses the guidelines.

The parties, under the banner of the Political Parties Liaison Committee (PPLC), said if the regulations are effected, then non-elected Kenyans will be locked out from participating in the August 2017 polls.

Led by PPLC Chairman Philip Obonyo, the group said the elections campaign financing guidelines for political parties and independent candidates are unrealistic.

PPLC argued that the guidelines, as they are, will only only serve the interests of the elected Members of Parliament.

"This law was poorly crafted, will lock out political parties and just shows lack of preparedness of the electoral commission to undertake the next elections," said Mr Obonyo.

PPLC now wants the National Assembly to amend the sections of the draft regulations and align them with the election timelines.

Obonyo said no political party has conducted its primaries and effecting the law would be an orchestrated plot to push the date of the election.

The agitated representatives of political parties warned the electoral agency not to bungle the next election by effecting unrealistic provisions of the law.

IEBC developed the draft regulations in consultation with the Committee on Delegated Legislation and submitted them to the National Assembly for approval.

However, the National Assembly is yet to approve the draft regulations as required by law.

Section 6 of the Election Campaign Financing Act obligates the commission to register "authorised persons" who include a candidate, agent of the candidate or political party campaign financing committee.

The authorised persons are required to open and submit the details of the campaign financing account to the commission at the time of registration.

The registration is expected to be done at least eight months before the elections, in the case of 2017 General Election, by Thursday midnight.

A statement sent by IEBC Wednesday urged political parties and candidates to register their respective authorised persons and submit details of the campaign financing account as per Section 6 of the Act pending approval of the rules by the National Assembly.

But PPLC said the deadline was untenable as the regulations are yet to be approved by the National Assembly.

"We can authoritatively say that IEBC is not sufficiently prepared to conduct the next elections. No political party has conducted its nomination. Where do you get agents to register to manage campaign elections?" questioned PPLC Organising Secretary Alex Wambua.