Registrar of Political Parties Anne Nderitu now says that the Speakers of Parliament and county assemblies will have the final say in determining whether seats held by elected leaders who change parties on March 26 will become vacant and therefore trigger by-elections.
Appearing before the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee (JLAC) of the National Assembly on the country’s preparedness for the August 9 elections, Ms Nderitu also gave a lifeline to losers in the coming party primaries.
She told the committee chaired by Kangema MP Muturi Kigano that those who feel slighted in the party primaries and want to vie as independent candidates have a window to do so.
This is as per the election guidelines issued by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) in January this year.
“The election guidelines by the IEBC provide that parties conduct their primaries within 10 days – between April 22 and May 2,” Ms Nderitu said.
Article 85 of the Constitution provides that an individual wishing to vie as an independent candidate must not have been associated with any political party at least three months to a general election.
Ms Nderitu told the committee that the Political Parties Act requires registered political parties cleared to contest in the General Election to submit their membership lists by March 26.
The law also states that once a member has vacated a party that sponsored him or her to Parliament or county assembly, legal provisions must be triggered for the purpose of conducting a by-election.
But Article 101 (5) of the Constitution stipulates that a by-election shall not be held within three months to a General Election.
With the elections set for August 9, counting three months backward means that no by-election shall be held beyond May 9. March 26, when elected leaders intend to vie on different parties other than the ones that sponsored them have to switch parties, falls outside the three months within which no by-election can be held.
Yesterday, Ms Nderitu was categorical that the authority to declare the seats vacant after the members have moved lies with the Speakers of the National Assembly, Senate and county assemblies.
“What happens will be determined by the consequential actions of the Speakers of the relevant Houses,” Ms Nderitu told the committee.
On January 20, IEBC Chairman Wafula Chebukati issued a notice for a general election as required by the Elections Act. The same law provides that once a notice for a general election has been issued, no by-election shall be held within that period.
The notice issued by Mr Chebukati conflicts with the Constitution and is therefore void and invalid on the basis of Article 2 (4) of the constitution.
The Elections Act, however, safeguards party members of a coalition outfit whose parties have severed ties.
This means that those who moved from Jubilee to UDA, which is associated with Deputy President William Ruto, will not lose their seats.
UDA, a party through which Dr Ruto seeks to succeed President Uhuru Kenyatta, was originally PDR, a coalition partner of Jubilee ahead of the 2017 elections. The party was, however, taken by the allies of the DP and rebranded UDA.
While one was previously required to write to the parties’ registrar and then notify the party he or she is resigning from, ORPP has simplified the resignation. Now, one can either resign manually or electronically by requesting the parties’ registrar to expunge their names from their former party’s register.
In terms of electronic resignation, members can do it via the E-Citizen or use the USSD code *509# at a cost of one shilling. When one resigns through electronic means, the party a member is resigning from is automatically notified.
Once this happens, the party which a member has resigned from can choose to inform the relevant Speaker. If the member decides not to inform the Speaker, their sponsoring parties have the obligation to notify the clerks of the relevant House. BY DAILY NATION