A UDA party nomination polling station at Kenya Power area in Makutano, Meru County, on April 14, 2022.

📋 Breaking It Down

Members of Parliament now want the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) locked out of conducting or hearing disputes arising from party nominations, citing interference with the independence of political parties.

During the consideration of the Elections (Amendment) Bill, 2024, the lawmakers argued that political parties are like clubs and the commission has no business in how they conduct their nominations.

The MPs are pushing for an amendment to the Elections Act so as to lock out the commission from handling any disputes arising from party primaries and instead transfer the power to the Elections Disputes Tribunal.

📌 What You Need to Know

According to Article 88 of the Constitution, IEBC is responsible for conducting or supervising referenda and elections to any elective body or office established by this Constitution, and any other elections as prescribed by an Act of Parliament.

Specifically, Article 88 (4) (e) states that “the commission is responsible for the settlement of electoral disputes, including disputes relating to or arising from nominations but excluding election petitions and disputes subsequent to the declaration of election results.”

According to the lawmakers, involvement of the commission in either conducting party primaries or sitting to hear and determine disputes arising from the nomination exercise erodes political parties’ independence.

The MPs argued that a decision to either hand an aspirant direct ticket or subject others to primaries is purely a prerogative of the political parties and therefore IEBC should not be granted any powers to hear disputes arising from such decisions.

The lawmakers also pointed out that involvement of IEBC in party primaries amounts to ‘meddling’ into the internal affairs of political parties by the commission.

Further, the lawmakers also raised the conflict of interest factor by IEBC in instances where a political party chooses the commission to conduct for them their primaries due to capacity and technology superiority, then they will also be the same party that will handle disputes arising from the same exercise.

📰 Source: Nation Africa