The Political Parties Amendment Bill was passed in the Senate without any amendments.
All the 15 proposals to amend the bill made by the Senators aligned to the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party were all striped out by the Azimio La Umoja Senators.
The bill which provides for both direct and indirect nominations is yet to be assented by President Uhuru Kenyatta into law
Senators Irungu Kang’ata of Murang’a, Elgeyo Marakwet’s Kipchumba Murkomen, Simon Cherargei of Nandi and Senator Isaac Mwaura (nominated) were among the members who had filed amendments to the bill.
Kang’ata proposed that clause 22, which provides for direct and indirect nominations be deleted.
Cherargei on the other hand proposed the same amendment with an additional provision that only registered party members can participate in the party primaries.
But the handshake partners saw the bill that would allow political parties to fill candidates jointly in a coalition pass.
Deputy President William Ruto allies led by Murkomen termed the bill as hopeless, useless and a tool designed for selfish political interests.
“The elections under the Constitution, is a function of the IEBC. Unfortunately, because some people want to micromanage political parties, they have given the Registrar of Political Parties the responsibility to manage political parties in terms of verifying registers and giving specific timelines,” said Murkomen.
Senator Cherargei also accused the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee of allegedly being influenced by external forces in writing reports and said they will be moving to the courts to strike out the bill.
