GACHURI’S PUNCHLINE: The chicken come home to roost for political parties

A general election is a serious matter. So serious it is because for the next five years, from the ballot date, Kenyans have a government to which they entrust all their State affairs, protection for their lives and properties, as well as managing their resources, that they surrender through taxes and other levies.

The process of establishing that government must also be clear, credible, verifiable and transparent. The same level of seriousness is required of all players, that is political parties and candidates, as well as the referee in the process – IEBC.

But on Wednesday IEBC released a statement indicating that none of the 89 political parties had fully complied with nomination requirements. Parties now have until Tuesday next week to fully comply, or else be locked out of the August 9, 2022 general election. That, ladies and gentlemen, is a serious indictment on the political parties and our democracy in general.

Naturally, political parties are the basis on which governments are established. The president, his or her deputy, Members of Parliament in the two Houses, Governors in the 47 devolved units, as well as Members of the County Assemblies are products of political parties. The IEBC statement on non-compliance by the 89 political units should therefore be a loud alarm bell.

Some of the shortfalls identified by IEBC include failure on obvious things like fully constituting party elections boards, non-compliance with gender rules in composition of the boards, terms of office and tenure of board members, how such codes of conducts would be monitored and evaluated, as well as independence of appeals tribunal established to handle disputes arising out of the nominations.

One would argue, and rightly so, that such requirements are basic, and easy to comply with. Failure by all the 89 political parties no doubt point to the casual nature with which electoral processes are taken. It proves what we all know, that political parties in this country are not serious institutions, they are convenient time-specific vehicles that gain relevance only around elections. It doesn’t end wrong, it starts wrong.

The Registrar of Political Parties has also required political parties to clean up their membership registers, in readiness for use in next year’s nominations. We all know how chaotic, if not shambolic party primaries are, or have been in the last few general elections. And next year will be no different if the necessary measures are not taken.

The non-compliance by the 89 political parties should worry aspirants eyeing various elective seats in next year’s general election. While you all embark on vote hunting missions in various electoral areas, you should be concerned about this non-compliance. Otherwise, mtaachwa mataani!