The Democratic Party of Kenya (DP) associated with Public Service Cabinet Secretary Justin Muturi issued Wednesday a 30-day notice to exit the Kenya Kwanza.
“Kindly take notice that our stay in Kenya Kwanza coalition is no longer tenable due to the prevailing political developments,” the letter by DP Secretary General Jacob Haji reads.
“This notice is effective from the date of this letter,” it adds.
The letter has been copied to the Registrar of Political Parties and Secretary Generals for Ford Kenya, United Democratic Alliance (UDA), and Maendeleo Chap Chap respectively.
Muturi signed the pre-election deal to join the Coalition on April 9, 2022, a few months to the General Elections.
Let’s understand mergers, coalitions and how a party can exit.
What is a merger?
A merger is the combination of two or more political parties into a single party (new or existing)
- The political party follows its constitution and procedures and makes the decision to merge.
- The merger agreement is then signed and deposited with the Registrar within twenty-one days of the signing.
- The Registrar withdraws and cancels the certificates of registration of the political parties that have merged and gazettes the dissolution of the merged parties within seven days.
- A certificate of full registration is then issued if a new political party is formed.
Effects of mergers on:
Membership
- A member of the political party that has merged with another will become a member of the new political party.
- A member who is a President, Deputy President, Governor or Deputy Governor, Member of Parliament, or member of a County Assembly, and does not want to be a member of the new political party after the merger will continue to serve in such elected office for the remainder of the term, and may join another political party or choose to be an independent member within thirty days of the registration of the new party.
Party particulars
- The particulars including the names, symbol, logo, slogan and colours of the parties are removed from the register of political parties and are not available for registration by any person as a political party in the subsequent election following the merger.
- The records, assets and liabilities, rights and obligations of all the dissolved political parties will be the records, assets and liabilities, rights and obligations of the new political party including their entitlement to the Political Parties Fund.
What is a Coalition?
A coalition means an alliance of two or more political parties formed for the purpose of pursuing a common goal.
There are pre-election and post-election coalitions.
What is the Process of entering into a coalition?
The political party follows its constitution and procedures and makes the decision to enter into a coalition. The coalition agreement is then signed and deposited with the Registrar. The coalition agreement must contain details on:
- The parties which are members of the coalition;
- The policies and objectives of the coalition;
- The structure of the coalition;
- The coalition election and nomination rules;
- The dispute resolution mechanisms and procedures;
- The formula and the mechanisms for sharing funds from the Political Party Fund to the respective member of the coalition;
- The grounds for dissolution and the procedures to be followed amongst others.
What are the effects of a Coalition on individual parties?
- Each party in the coalition is still recognized as a legal entity and has an independent legal existence
- Need not register a coalition name, slogan, or symbol, but may use such other name, slogan, or symbol in popularising the coalition
- No candidate is nominated on a coalition ticket
Exiting a coalition
Muturi’s DP becomes the first party to express its intention to quit Kenya Kwanza.
In the case of Kenya Kwanza, a party must give a 30-day notice.
This is stipulated in the termination clause (8) of the coalition agreement.
For Azimio, no constituent party can exit for at least a year.
This is contained in Article 22 of the Azimio agreement on the 'Withdrawal of Parties'.
It also provides that no party can bolt out of the coalition at least six months to the general election.
It, however, states that it can do so at least three months after the elections.
Even then, a party that wishes to exit can only do so after giving a 90-day notice to the coalition council, which is the second-highest organ of the coalition.
Registrar of Political Parties (RPP) Ann Nderitu confirmed Wednesday it had received the letter from DP.
On February 26, Nderitu also confirmed that five political parties have officially left the Azimio la Umoja coalition following the 2022 general elections.
They are the People's Liberation Party (formerly Narc-Kenya), Maendeleo Chap Chap party (MCC), United Democratic Movement (UDM), Devolution Empowerment Party (DEP), and Pamoja African Alliance (PAA).
What is a coalition political party?
Two or more political parties may form a coalition political party before or after an election.
A coalition political party is a coalition registered as a political party that is exempted from Sections 5 and 6 of the Political Parties Act, 2011 (PPA).
This includes the requirements the publication of the notice of intention for provisional registration in the Gazette and two newspapers with nationwide circulation for purposes of inviting objections
This is in line with the Amendment of section 7 of No. 11 of 2011 (Section (76) of the PPA).
Currently, Azimio la Umoja One Kenya is the registered coalition political party while Kenya Kwanza Alliance and Taifa Democratic Coalition are the registered coalitions.
