The kenya african national union kanu dominated kenyan politics from its founding in 1960 until the early 21st century. Political parties in kenya encourage the respect for human rights and opposition parties as they act as people representative, they also make the change of government orderly and lawful as witnessed in 2002. An act of parliament to amend the political parties act, 2011, and for connected purposes enacted by the parliament of kenya, as follows. Challenges and opportunities for democratic consolidation find, read and. Political parties kenya area, system, power, policy. Published by the national council for law reporting. The act is the primary legal reference for the management of political parties in accordance with articles 91 and 92 of the kenya constitution 2010, which envisages wellgoverned. Africa from select countries in east, west, south and central. The political parties act, 2011 provides for the registration, regulation, and funding of political parties.
The legal framework for political parties in kenya is still underdeveloped, as political parties are required to register under the societys act, cap 108 of the. While historically speaking the public administrations main task has been to implement and communicate political decisions to society, one of the key changes that has occurred over the past decade or so has been. However, it has been a multi party system since 1992 and one of the ruling coalitions consists o f several parties. Democracy and political participation main report 29 executive summary 31 a. Following the implementation of several political parties acts starting with the 31 december 2008 act, the number of political parties has been coming down considerably since. The absence of an effective legal framework for the registration.
One of the main functions of a political party is to express public expectations. Basic requirements for political parties kenya law. For many years, there was no specific law governing political parties in kenya. Speaker of the national assembly justin muturi has called on politicians and political parties to embrace dialogue as a means of solving political problems in. Pdf political parties play an important role in supporting a democratic institution. Policy brief political parties national democratic institute. Interpretation in this act, unless the context otherwise requires adult has the meaning assigned to it in article 260 of the constitution. The sources of moneys in the fund are from allocations made by the minister of finances in the annual budget and contributions and donations from other sources. Office tables proposal to political parties law corporate affairs lion place nairobi, kenya.
It highlights the link between politics devoid of principles, ethnicbased political parties and state fragility in kenya. Kenya article 19 defending freedom of expression and. Popular version of political parties act undp in kenya. At the political parties dialogue the representatives of the political parties identified the key elements to be developed into the political parties strategy for gender equality on candidates nomination in kenya. Political parties act roggkenya reporting on good governance. The political parties act, 2011 provides the institutional, legal and regulatory framework for registration, regulation, and funding of political parties in kenya. Thereby parties, such as the sinn fein, have not sworn an oath of.
Pdf political parties and intraparty democracy in kenya. Klrc has an additional mandate of preparing new legislation to give effect to the constitution. Institutionalizing friedrich e b er t stiftung fes p o. The political parties act one of the laws contemplated under articles 91 and 92 is the political parties act 2011 which came into force on 1st november, 2011. Kenya national archives experience more than just history. The political parties act in a nutshell office of the registrar of.
Political parties registration and regulation amendment. The act provides the institutional, legal and regulatory framework for registration, regulation and funding of political parties in kenya. Political parties may, subject to the provisions of the constitution and this act, be formed in kenya to further purposes which are not contrary to the constitution or. Key among the findings of this work is that kenyan political parties have not done well on the. Chapter eightthe legislature part 1establishment and role of parliament 93establishment of parliament. Kenyan politics and political parties in kenya kenyan.
List of all registered political parties in kenya 2019. They play several critical roles to make representative democracy a reality. Election report kenya 2017 general and presidential. This is a list of all registered political parties in kenya as of 2019 by the registrar of political parties. The role of political parties in constitutionalising. The chapter nuances the nexus of ethnic nationalism, competition for state control and fragmented tribal alliances in kenya.
Consolidated from the 2016 gazetted version and the 2017 gazetted amendments by reporting on good governance in kenya. The office of the registrar of political parties orpp appeared before the national assemblys select constitutional implementation oversight committee on 23 rd july 2019 to present its position on the proposed amendments to the political parties act ppa, 2011. As earlier highlighted, a political party is an organised group of people with similar political aims and opinions, that seek to influence public policy by getting its candidates elected to a public office. As of 2007, there were more than 160 registered political parties in kenya. The country operates under a dominant multiparty system with the ruling party being in power since the nation attained its independence in 1961. Nomination for political party candidate for county governor. Since kenyas transformation from singleparty kanu rule back into a multiparty state in the early 1990s, many political parties have. The political parties act 2007, 28 established a political parties fund administered by the registrar of political parties. Kenya s system is one with characteristics comparable with a tw o part y system, since two domin ant political par ties c. This act may be cited as the political parties short title. The political parties act 2011 in this act referred amendment of section 2 of no. The minister may appoint assistant registrars and such other officers in such numbers as may form time to time be required to carry out the purpose of this act. The fundamental difference between the two parties resided in the fact that kanu tended to represent those. The political parties registrar issued certificates of registration to 38 political parties which had complied with the requirements of the political parties act the act before the december 31.
The role of political parties in constitutionalising governance. Regrettably, the elections represent a major setback in kenyas democratic development. A new addition is the independent electoral and boundaries commission act, which provides for the appointment of members of the commission and management of the commission. Until the passage of the political parties act 2007 the registration of political parties as corporate entities was undertaken by the registrar of societies under the societies act cap 108, while registration with the electoral commission of kenya eck was undertaken for each election as a formality necessary for administrative purposes. Pdf on mar 25, 2014, josh maiyo and others published political parties and intraparty democracy in kenya 19922007. The ppa provides the institutional, legal and regulatory framework for registration, regulation and funding of political parties in kenya. So it is worth looking at the orginal source, the political parties act, to know firsthand what should happen and what shouldnt. Speaker muturi calls for dialogue in solving political. However with the implementation of several political parties acts which came on the 31 december 2008 act, the number was drastically reduced and on 30 april 2012, twentyfour political parties were issued registration certificates while 22 others had applied for registration.
Constitution of kenya, 2010 5 part 3political parties 91basic requirements for political parties. Basic requirements for political parties kenya law reform. Postelection political violence 3 2 summary of recommendations the following is a summary of article 19s recommendations for action to end the culture of impunity and disregard for human rights, including freedom of. The political parties act, 2011 provides the institutional, legal and regulatory framework for registration, regulation and funding of political parties in kenya. Act 9 of 2015 political parties registration and regulation amendment act, 2015. Besides enacting these laws, the country has established a number. The employment act, chapter 226 of the laws of kenya 2007 the education act, chapter 211 of the laws of kenya 1980 the hiv and aids prevention and control act, chapter 246a of the laws of kenya 2006 the political parties act, chapter 7b of the laws of kenya 2011 the universities act, act no. Its early principal opposition, the kenya african democratic union kadu, merged with kanu in 1964. Kenya had over 160 registered political parties as of november 2007. It first governed as the tanganyika african national union, before merging with the afroshirazi party to. Application for registration for the purpose of registration of any association of persons or organization or as a political party, the association or body is required to make an application for registration to the registrar of political parties.