IEBC gazettes new rules to control campaign financing

Nairobi, Kenya: The electoral agency has gazetted new guidelines to control polls financing for candidates and political parties at constituency and ward levels.

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) said the new rules limit how much parties and candidates can spend on campaigns.

IEBC Commissioner Mohamed Alawy said in Mombasa yesterday the law requires that the limits of expenditure be gazetted one year before the General Election.

"The Election Campaign Finance Act is now operational and we have published the limits of expenditure," said Alawy.

He added that a reporting mechanism exists where all prospective candidates will fill forms.

"With this new development in place, we shall be able to reduce effects or influence of money in the election process," he said.

Alawy at the same time added that inspection of poll registry will start soon.

In the meantime, the IEBC official said they had launched a voter education curriculum targeting 10.1 million primary and 3.5 million secondary school learners.

Reacting to the publishing of limits of campaign expenditure, Mombasa-based lobby Haki Africa commended IEBC for the move.

In a telephone interview, Haki Africa Executive Director Hussein Khalid termed the rules as very positive in Kenya's electioneering process.

"We are extremely delighted as an organisation to have such an act being operationalised.

"But what we need now is to have such a law fully operationalised and enforced," he said.

Khalid said IEBC had been good at making positive laws but enforcement was the problem.

"What we need to have in place are clearly set mechanisms to ensure the law as gazetted is followed to the latter," he said.

Mombasa Catholic Priest Fr Gabriel Dolan backed the move but wondered how it would be implemented.