HOME

Gains of ORPP initiatives in strengthening political parties for Special Interests Groups’ inclusion

By Anastacia Kaberere, Senior Compliance Officer-Capacity Building

anastacia Political parties play are key institutions that shape the democratic landscape of any nation. In Kenya, the Registrar of Political Parties is mandated in registering, regulating, monitoring, investigating, and supervising political parties to ensure their compliance with the law. Additionally, the Registrar manages the Political Parties' Fund, an essential source of financial support for political parties to attain their purposes within the confines of the Political Parties .

However, Kenya, like many other countries, has faced challenges with the lack of diversity and inclusion within its political parties. To fortify and improve the functioning of political parties, it is imperative to promote greater representation and involvement of youth and women. Some of the benefits of incorporating diversity and inclusion within political parties include the following:

Enhanced Representation: Youth and women make up a significant portion of the Kenyan population thereby their inclusion in political parties will ensure that their concerns, interests, and aspirations are adequately represented in the decision-making process. This can lead to policies and initiatives that address the unique challenges faced by these demographics for a more inclusive and equitable society.

Fostering Innovation and Progress: Diverse political parties bring together individuals from various backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. This diversity of thought leads to innovative solutions to societal issues and fosters progress in governance.
Strengthening Democracy: Inclusive political parties are essential for building a strong democratic foundation. When all citizens are represented and valued, they are more likely to engage in the democratic process, leading to increased voter turnout and political participation. This, in turn, strengthens the legitimacy and credibility of democratic institutions.

Improved Public Perception: Political parties that actively promote diversity and inclusion are viewed more favorably by the public. Such parties demonstrate a commitment to equal representation and are perceived as more responsive to the needs of the people they serve. This can result in increased trust and support from the electorate.

Increased Voter Turnout: By empowering youth and women to actively participate in politics, political parties can attract a broader voter base. This, in turn, can lead to in- increased voter turnout during elections, strengthening the democratic process.
Fostering Long-term Party Loyalty: Engaging youth in political parties early on cultivates a sense of loyalty and commitment that can endure for years. Such continuity strengthens party structures and increases its long-term via

To promote inclusion for Youth and Women Involvement in some of the following:

Capacity Building Programs: The Registrar collaborates with partners and other stakeholders in implementing capacity-building programs for political parties. These programs focus on leadership development, political training, and advocacy skills specifically tailored for youth and women. Building their capacity empowers them to become effective leaders and advocates within their parties and the political arena.

Affirmative Action: Implementing affirmative action measures accelerates the inclusion of youth and women within political parties. The Political Parties Act 2011 has put in place measures to ensure representation in party governing bodies and party membership by requiring them to reflect gender balance and inclusion of special interest groups. Further, under funds distribution, there’s fifteen percent of fund which is divided proportionately to political parties based on the number of candidates from special interest groups elected in the preceding general election.

Expanding the outreach through;
Educational Campaigns: The Registrar of Political Parties is keen on expanding the outreach through educational campaigns aimed at raising awareness about the importance of diversity and inclusion within political parties. These campaigns target both party members and the general public, emphasizing the benefits of youth and women participation and dispelling any misconceptions or biases.

Networking and Mentorship: Facilitating networking opportunities and mentorship programs for young and aspiring political leaders is another strategy that will enable women and youth to connect with experienced politicians and gain valuable insights. Mentorship will provide guidance and support, helping youth and women overcome barriers and succeed in the political sphere.

The Office of the Registrar of Political Parties leads Kenya’s efforts towards ensuring not only compliance with the law but also taken deliberate efforts in supporting political parties and targeted special interest groups to active participation. These efforts result in these groups becoming more engaged, the overall political environment will become more inclusive, responsive, and effective in addressing the needs of all Kenyan citizens. Ultimately, diversity and inclusion, particularly through greater involvement of youth and women, in a collaborative approach will buttress democratic thrift in Kenya.

A more diverse and inclusive political landscape brings a range of benefits, including enhanced representation, innovation, and a stronger democracy. Educational campaigns, affirmative action, capacity-building programs, and networking opportunities are essential tools that are been used to empower youth and women within political parties.

ORPP supports Mathare-based community peace dialogue

The ORPP has called for peaceful co-existence of Mathare, Huruma area residents, and all communities in a forum held on 30th July 2023. Participants were sensitized on causes of conflict, conflict prevention, and conflict resolution mechanisms.

Ms. Beatrice Nderi sensitizing participants of the Community Peace Dialogue forum in Huruma Mathare area

The training objective was to engage the community-based leaders on ways of maintaining peace, security, and building cohesion. ORPP outlined measures taken to enhance peace which were holding dialogue grassroots forums, holding peaceful caravans in hotspot areas capacity building of political party officials among others. “The ORPP has made every effort to ensure there is a peaceful political environment including being a member of the Uwiano Platform for Peace and also regulating political parties involved in violence incitement in accordance with the law” added ORPP representative Beatrice Nderi.

Caleb Ouma who is a drug reformist stated the various reasons which contribute to violence in society among them joblessness among the youth, tribalism, illiteracy, and political incitement among others. ‘Many youths have been the victims of political violence and are abandoned thereafter, it is high time we educate them on the importance of peace and cohesion.” added Caleb.

Other facilitators called on the organizers to conduct more community dialogue forums in order to enhance civic education on the importance of peace and conflict management. The participants appreciated ORPP’s financial support of the program and promised to enhance collaboration on upcoming future programs.

County Round Up

Nakuru Regional Office

The ORPP, Nakuru Regional Office organized a post-2022 general election with political parties' officials/members and relevant stakeholders drawn from Nyandarua County.

olitical Parties present included JUBILEE, NARC-KENYA, ODM, TSP and UDA. Stakeholders who participated in the forum were, IEBC, Maendeleo ya Wanawake, Representatives from youth and Persons living with Disabilities in the county. The forum was an evaluation of the General Elections 2022. In the forum, the performance of political parties, and candidates and sourcing for feedback on the gaps and challenges experienced were deliberated. The forum was held on Friday 2nd June 2023 at Lake Ol Bolosat Resort, Nyandarua County.

Political parties’ officials at the stakeholder engagement forum in Nyandarua County

Sensitization of participants in an engagement forum in Nakuru County

Nakuru Regional Coordinator Mr. John Mwaura officiating the stakeholder engagement forum in the region

Eldoret Regional Office

Political Parties sensitization forum by Uasin Gishu office attended by eight Political Parties from DAPK, ANC,TSP, UDA, Jubilee, Tujibebe PARTY and WIPER party. The dialogue forum was aimed at promoting political parties’ education as well as sensitizing participants on the mandate and functions of the ORPP.

Uasin Gishu Regional Coordinator Ms Hope Nandwa sensitizing political parties’ officials in Aturukan Hotel, Transnzoia County

Office Review legal and electoral reforms

A session to review the legal and electoral reforms by ORPP management was held from 22^nd to 25^th June 2023. The review of the Political Parties Act (PPA) was informed by lessons learned in the previous electoral cycles and feedback gathered from stakeholders during the post-election evaluation phase.

"This process shall address the gaps identified and enable ORPP to execute its mandate with a focus on reimagining regulation of political parties as envisioned in the Constitution," said Registrar Ann Nderitu.

During the meeting, Assistant Registrar Mr. Ali Surraw cited the importance of the legal reforms exercise terming it as an act of promoting constitutionalism. “These reforms will strengthen the mandate of the Office due to the clear provisions provided” added the Assistant Registrar.

One of the proposals from the proceedings was to introduce the Integrated Political Parties Management System (IPPMS) as an ‘electronic infrastructure established by the Registrar for processing political parties’ data and records. Also, Section 7 (2A) to read, 'A fully registered political party shall maintain the conditions as set out in Section (2) above', and; Section 10 (5) to be, 'to provide for the Registrar to publish coalition agreements in the Kenya Gazette and ORPP website within 14 working days of either confirming the coalition or registration the coalition political party.'

Other areas proposed for reform were the Political Parties Act, the Political Parties (Registration) Regulations 2019, the Political Parties (Funding) Regulations 2019, the proposed use of technology Regulations, and coalition political party regulations.

The session participants were praised for developing a comprehensive matrix instrumental in enhancing the current provisions of the Political Parties Act. The proposals shall be shared with external stakeholders as a requirement, and for their contributions to the same.

ICT policy sharpened to reflect changing times

The 2022 Amendments to the Political Parties Act provide for ORPP to establish simple, accurate, verifiable, secure, accountable, and transparent technology to process political parties' data and records. This premised review of ORPP's ICT Policy and drafting of SOPs on 16th to 19th May 2023. The forum sought to alight the Policy and procedures to government priorities, re-engineer internal processes and emerging ICT advancements and realities.

The Policy covers the governance of ICT function; political parties' information systems; software and hardware management; network handling, access controls, risks identification, and mitigation among others.

"This policy will help the Office enhance its systems to be responsive to data protection requirements while providing direction on how to improve and integrate with political parties' systems. This will also help us fill in gaps experienced in ORPP ICT practices to safeguard authenticity and integrity of systems geared towards Office full automation and our services offering" noted the Registrar, Ann Nderitu during the forum. The Registrar further urged the need to delineate responsibilities for system users' access & controls as well as the obligation of staff to accountably utilize ICT resources.

ICT Policy

Head of ICT, R. Waithaka presents during the development of ICT policy

'This Office is committed to instating policies that speak to our regulatory role and cater to all processes and workflows. The ICT Policy review is part of Office continued ICT reforms that ORPP has implemented and improved our service delivery", noted Asst. Registrar, CPA Florence Birya during the session.

The forum is part of ORPP's policy/manuals/SOPs review/development focus this FY for all its functional areas.

Page 3 of 14

Registrar appointed to Gender parity multisector group

6 September 2023 - Hanns Seidel Foundation, Resident Representative, Kenya and Ethiopia Daniel Seiberling hold meeting with the Registrar of Political Parties, Ann Nderitu and Assistant Registrar Mr. Ali Surraw.

Launch of ORPP 2022 Post-Election Evaluation Report

Self service: Dial *509# to check political party membership status

Fully Registered Political Parties

ORPP Regional Offices

News & Events

Twitter Feeds

Vision, Mission and Mandate

Facebook Feeds

Announcements

Media Center

Twitter Feeds

Key Partners