House team pushes for law change to allow party hopping

MPs on Tuesday moved to strike out a section of the Political Parties Act that prevents them from hopping from one outfit to another, saying it had become difficult to implement the law since no politician has ever lost a seat for the infraction.

The matter was raised by Ugenya MP David Ochieng, who wondered what action the Registrar of Political Parties, Ms Lucy Ndung’u, had taken to discipline politicians who had ditched their parties in the ongoing Kericho and Malindi by-elections and were campaigning for outsiders.

“We are seeing it happen in Kericho and Malindi by-elections. What is the registrar doing about it and how can the office of the registrar be made effective to discipline those who are campaigning for candidates from other parties?” Mr Ochieng asked.

Mr Ochieng said implementing the law had become a problem since it was difficult to establish whether an MP campaigning for other candidates had resigned from the party that sponsored him to Parliament.

CHEPKONGA'S DIRECTIVE

Justice and Legal Affairs Committee Chairman Samuel Chepkonga said: “This provision has been hard to implement, so we suggest it be struck out.”

Following Mr Chepkonga’s directive, the provision was hurriedly struck out of the Act without much debate.

If the committee’s proposal is passed in the National Assembly, it means that MPs can now switch party allegiance, and support their new political outfits without fear of losing their seats.

Politicians have been using the loophole in law to engage in activities of other parties, knowing that it would be difficult for their political parties to discipline them the proof whether one had defected.

As a result of the lacuna, parties have resorted to disciplining members by removing them from leadership positions such as chair of committees, or position of party whips in Parliament, but no MP has lost his seat, as provided for in the Act.

PROVISION PREVENTED PARTY HOPPING

Section 14 of the political Parties Act, provides that a person who, while being a member of a political party, forms another political party, joins in the formation of another political party, joins another political party, in any way or manner, publicly advocates for the formation of another political party, promotes the ideology, interests or policies of another political party shall be deemed to have resigned from the previous political party.

Ms Ndung’u appeared before the committee Tuesday, to give proposed amendments by stakeholders following an evaluation of election procedures after the 2013 elections.

Some of the other proposed amendments include a requirement that parties implement the two thirds gender rule, which requires membership and leadership positions not be held by more than two thirds of the same gender.

A requirement that parties reflect diversity of ethnic and “other minorities” drew controversy, after Kiharu MP Irungu Kang’ata said the other minorities should be deleted as it could be interpreted to mean gay people.

Ms Ndung’u said the phrase was picked up directly from the Constitution, but since there was no clear definition of who the minorities were it was agreed that it be deleted from the Act.

Mr Ochieng said the Political Parties’ Tribunal should define its role and jurisdiction to prevent a conflict with the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) tribunal, the two having clashed in the past over their duplicitous roles.

The MP proposed that the political parties’ tribunal handle disputes arising from party primaries, while the IEBC be left to handle issues to do with disagreements over the party nomination lists.