The ORPP hosted the Political Parties Regulation Commission (PPRC), Sierra Leone from 2nd to 5th September 2024 for an exchange to share insights on two institutions’ regulatory models . The visit hosted by the Registrar of Political Parties (ORPP) with support of International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, Sierra Leone. A possibility of forming Africa’s Political Parties’ Regulatory Agencies Consortium was commenced.
The delegation chose Kenya being a continental leader in its model of registration, regulation, and funding of political parties.
The Registrar of Political Parties Ann Nderitu, CBS, while welcoming the guests, highlighted the Kenya’s democratic journey as reflected by history of political parties and establishment of ORPP. “This visit is part of ORPP Kenya’s efforts toward well-founded and structured governance of political parties that significantly impacts a country’s socio-economic and political progress,” she noted, while educating on the Office’s contribution to democratic governance in Kenya.
The Head of the PPRC delegation, also the PPRC’s Executive Director, Olushogo A. David, acknowledged the shared legal framework and operational similarities between the ORPP and the PPRC. He acknowledged Kenya’s advancements in technology, legal reforms, and political parties funding that would be valuable insights to his team. “We stand to gain immensely from Kenya’s proven successes in these areas,” David said.
During the visit, a range of ORPP Kenya’s departments and sections sensitized on their processes. These included governance structure and HR practices, registration, compliance, corporate communication, partnerships, field services, ICT & legal among others.
These processes were interrogated with comparative lessons drawn on the two institutions’ procedures and standards with reference to Kenya’s models for party financing and the impact on political dynamics:
Key lessons drawn by the team pertained to leveraging on ICT in managing parties membership records and overall efficiency; promotion of personal data and operational efficiency and design of capacity building programmes. Further, ORPP’s decentralized of services including a visit to one Nakuru county office, maintenance of information systems, collaborative efforts and networking strategies, corporate positioning were explored.
The visit culminated in identification of future collaborations by ORPP and PPRC in areas of capacity-building, staff exchange and joint research ventures. These efforts will enhance both countries’ to effectively manage and regulate political entities for stronger democratic institutions across Africa.