- The Inspector General’s report revealed issues of law violations among the main political parties in the country
- Wiper Patriotic Front and NARC are in danger of being deregistered due to lack of operational offices in counties across the country
- A political analyst told TUKO.coke that the National Liberal Party is ready to take advantage of the opponents’ shortcomings before the 2027 elections.
Nairobi – A recent audit by the Auditor General Nancy Gathungu has revealed that some major political parties do not have offices in 47 counties as required by law.
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Party of Kalonzo Musyoka of the Wiper Democratic Front and former Kitui Governor Charity Ngilu of the National Rainbow Coalition (NARC) are among the parties that the Auditor General found to be non-compliant.
The report also showed that these parties have failed to prove sustainable political activities outside the areas where their founders are governed.
NARC and Wiper, whose leaders are natives of the Ukambani area, also do not have adequate county infrastructure.
“This raises questions about the parties’ ability to provide a truly national perspective as required by law,” the report said.
The report also found that the Association of United Democratic Party (UDP) of Kenya also lacked offices in all counties and had no operational structures across the country.
The Change Party of Kenya was also nominated for having the same shortcomings as Wiper, NARC, and UDP.
In the report, auditors found that the parties did not have real offices or staff to carry on meaningful dialogue with voters in some counties.
Peter Mwangangi, a political analyst from Makueni, speculated that the audit report could lead to the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties (ORPP) increasing its administrative activities in a bid to ensure compliance.
The law requires Kenyan political parties to have operational offices and carry out political activities in more than half of the 47 counties.
This means at least 24 counties across the country. Section 7 (2) (f) (iii) of the Law on Political Parties of 2011 states that a party registered in temporary levels will be fully registered after submitting the addresses and locations of their branch offices in at least 50 percent of the counties across the country.
“The findings that these parties have audit questions to answer cast doubt on their legality to operate in accordance with the law. If they are pursued, they may face deregistration and this would only increase the tyranny of their law-abiding opponents, especially in the strongholds of party leaders,Mwangangi told TUKO.co.ke.
He said the implementation of the ORPP could shape the politics of Ukambani, where new members such as the National Liberal Party, who obey the rules of operation, will take advantage of the shortcomings of the NARC, Wiper and Change parties.
Responding to the results of the audit report, NLP leader Augustus Muli indicated that his wing is ready to continue its dominance by strengthening operational structures in Ukambani and across the country.
“We have been very strong and we are strengthening our organizational footprints before the 2027 General Election. It is the responsibility of the parties to obey the election laws and those who fail to follow the rules should be sure that we will not hesitate to represent the voters who have failed,” Muli said.
Mwangangi added that the weakness of other parties in Ukambani could undoubtedly work to the advantage of groups formed like the NLP, which would carve out a large piece of the political cake in the region.
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Source: TUKO.co.ke
