Former IEBC chief executive James Oswago has called for tougher enforcement of political party laws before the 2027 General Election, saying early checks on party structures, membership and finances could help prevent voter bribery and other electoral offences.
Speaking on Radio Generation on Tuesday, Oswago said Kenya already has laws setting out how political parties should be formed, managed and financed, but their effectiveness depends on how well the requirements are enforced.
He said political parties must comply with constitutional and legal requirements covering membership, governance, financing and their conduct, adding that enforcement should begin well before campaign-related offences are reported.
“The Political Parties Act also says that political parties must be committed to the realization of the full extent of the Constitution. Then you have the Election Finance Act, which also says this is the amount of money you are supposed to spend. Now, the Election Finance Act is not very comprehensive, and it is not easy to enforce.”
Oswago said responsibility for ensuring parties comply with the law should not be placed entirely on the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, especially when dealing with political financing and voter bribery.
Under the Political Parties Act, a party seeking full registration must recruit at least 1,000 registered voters from each of more than half of Kenya's counties. Its membership must also reflect regional and ethnic diversity, gender balance and representation of minorities and marginalised groups.
The law further requires a party's governing body to meet similar diversity standards, while no more than two-thirds of its members can be of the same gender. Parties seeking full registration must also have branch offices in more than half of the counties.
Oswago said these requirements should be checked in practice to ensure parties have functioning structures across the country instead of simply fulfilling the conditions on paper.
He claimed that some parties list branches in counties where the offices may exist only nominally, with some reportedly operating from bars or small premises that are rarely used.
He said checking whether such branches exist and are active should form part of efforts to enforce political party regulations.
The issue is important in a political system with a large number of registered parties. An Office of the Registrar of Political Parties post-election evaluation shows that 90 political parties were registered for the 2022 General Election, with 83 taking part in the polls, compared with 66 registered parties in 2017 and 45 in 2013.
Oswago also connected stronger party regulation to the control of campaign money, saying authorities should establish how parties raise and use funds before elections rather than waiting until allegations of voter bribery emerge.
Kenya's Election Campaign Financing Act provides for the regulation, management, expenditure and accountability of campaign funds. It also provides for spending limits, while the law requires campaign-related financial reporting and sets out requirements for managing election expenditure.
“It is a question of enforcement, in my view, which needs to be done long before voters are bribed, or as we look at that. But you see, we wait in Kenya. We wait and say, ‘Oh, there was voter bribery in Nyandarua. What does IEBC do?’ Instead of asking the question before, is the Political Parties Act rigorous enough, or is the campaign finance regulation sufficiently comprehensive and enforceable enough? Where are the loopholes? What can be done?”
Oswago said authorities should therefore examine possible gaps in the existing laws and regulations before the 2027 campaigns become more intense.
He further pointed to the Political Parties Fund as another area where compliance and accountability remain important.
The Political Parties Act establishes the fund, which is administered by the Registrar of Political Parties. Under the law, 95 per cent of the fund is distributed proportionately according to votes won by qualifying parties in the preceding General Election, while five per cent is set aside for administration. Parties must meet set requirements to qualify for the funding.
ORPP data cited in the discussion shows the scale of public funding involved. During the 2024/25 financial year, the United Democratic Alliance was allocated about Sh480.3 million, the Orange Democratic Movement about Sh256.6 million and the Jubilee Party about Sh112.5 million from the Political Parties Fund.
Oswago said stronger enforcement would help move the country from responding to electoral offences after they happen to preventing them through early checks on party structures, finances and compliance.
He said a clearer enforcement system would also help define the roles of political parties, regulators and the electoral commission in protecting the integrity of the electoral process ahead of the 2027 General Election.