Poll financing Bill set for House debate

By ALLAN KISIA

The contentious Bill that seeks to regulate campaign spending ahead of elections and referendums is set to be introduced in the National Assembly today.

The Election Campaign Financing Bill, which had been envisioned to be operational before the March 4, General Election, was swept under the carpet after it elicited mixed reactions from politicians and other stakeholders.

If passed, the Bill will spell out regulations, management, expenditure and accountability of election campaign funds during election and referendum campaigns.

The Tenth Parliament wound up business before passing the Bill, a move that drew condemnation from the Constitutional Implementation Commission (CIC) and other key players.

The Bill requires political parties and their candidates before an election to fully disclose their sources of funding for purposes of elections.

After Parliament was dissolved, CIC chairman Charles Nyachae regretted that the House was dissolved before passing the Bill, which the Constitution required to be enacted by August.

New election law will see the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission seek more transparency and frequent public disclosure of campaign finances in addition to what the new laws are demanding.

The move simply seeks to tighten laws regarding how politicians raise money and account for it to the public.

With the enactment of the Elections Act and the Political Parties Act and the passage of the Campaign Financing Bill, Kenya will join the ranks of consolidated democracies like the US and UK that have in place elaborate laws to both bring transparency to the process and shield elective politics from influence peddling by big donors.

The Campaign Finance Bill hopes to bridge the funding gap between political parties, curb corruption, limit the influence of special interests, limit the impact of money on the outcome of elections and force parties to be accountable to members.

IEBC will set spending limits for election campaigns once the Campaign Financing Bill is passed.

The limits will be informed by factors such as the difference in the geographical size of the electoral area, the type of election and the population.