Jubilee party sets nomination rules ahead of merger

All Jubilee Party leaders who intend to vie in the 2017 elections will be locked out of the new party’s top organ — the National Executive Committee.

Multiple sources in the party, which will be launched on Saturday, said President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy, Mr William Ruto, have agreed to name professionals to the 77-member committee which will nominate the party’s candidates ahead of the elections. The committee will also be responsible for popularising the party.

Each of the 13 parties which will fold ahead of the merger have been assured of at least two NEC slots. However, the number of votes that each party garnered in the last elections will determine the maximum number of seats that the parties will get.

On Tuesday, TNA Chairman Johnson Sakaja, who is eyeing the Nairobi governor’s seat, said those seeking elective seats will not be appointed as NEC members.

“The likelihood is that the (NEC) officials will not be politicians who are vying for seats,” he said in a telephone interview.

The matter was a hot issue in the party’s legal committee talks chaired by TNA Secretary-General Onyango Oloo. The question was whether aspirants should preside over the nominations of their counterparts in the race for the party ticket.

On Wednesday, party chairmen and secretaries-general from the 13 parties will hold talks at State House, Nairobi, where President Kenyatta and Mr Ruto will give further directions on the NEC slots and preparations for the launch of the new party on Saturday at the Safaricom Kasarani Stadium.

On Tuesday, Meru Senator Kiraitu Murungi — who co-chaired the party’s steering committee — said the draft constitution lists the strength of the votes each party garnered in the last elections, the diversity of the country and disability as the factors to determine sharing of the NEC seats.

“NEC officials will come from across the country. While the formula has been set in the party constitution, the President (party leader) and the Deputy President (deputy party leader) will look at the country and allocate seats accordingly,” he said on phone.

According to him, the interim party officials will hold office until after the 2017 elections.

Sources said that the decision to give at least two slots to each party was meant to ensure equity because some of the smaller parties would have been locked out.

PASS RESOLUTION TO FOLD

The leaders appeared to be confirming President Kenyatta’s announcement three weeks ago when he hosted a Jubilee Party merger meeting at State House when he declared that those aspiring for elective seats will not be appointed as members of NEC.

“This is key to ensure that each and everyone seeking an elective positions knows that they will get a fair chance of succeeding,” the President said at the time.

On Tuesday, TNA, URP, the Alliance Party of Kenya (APK) and New Ford Kenya leaders said their parties were ready to pass the resolution to fold on Thursday in readiness to join Jubilee on Saturday.

(READ: Jubilee party leaders discuss framework of the merger)

Mr Oloo said TNA’s 1,650 delegates, whose list has been verified by the Registrar of Political Parties, will arrive in Nairobi on Wednesday.

“Our delegates are ready for the meeting on Thursday to pass a resolution to join Jubilee Party. The list has been verified. There were some people who thought they were delegates yet they are not. All is clear now,” he said on phone.

URP Secretary-General Fred Muteti said 1,500 delegates will attend the party’s National Delegates Conference.

“We are all set for the dissolution of the party and merger,” he said.

Mr Murungi, the APK party leader, said his party has 620 delegates while New Ford-K’s interim chairman, Mr Kenneth Lusaka, said the party will be represented by 520 delegates.

On Tuesday, preparations were ongoing at the Kasarani Stadium and Bomas of Kenya where the 13 parties will hold their NDCs on Thursday. At Kasarani, Mo Sounds Entertainment were on site to set up their equipment at the stadium. A team from State House inspected the grounds ahead of the three-day event.

At Bomas of Kenya, three venues have been set aside for the dissolution of parties. Bomas of Kenya Information officer Eric Ochieng said the meetings will be held alternately, both in the morning and in the afternoon.

“We have set aside the main auditorium, the grounds and the new hall for the meetings but we still don’t have details of who will use which arena and at what time,” Mr Ochieng’ said.

Additional reporting by Stella Cherono and Patrick Langat