The news of the formation of the jubilee alliance
party came as no surprise as the two major parties of TNA & URP merge
technically to form a solid vehicle for the 2017 & 2022 general elections,
away from the pre-poll pact that defined them as distinct entities though in
a coalition, each with a right to walk away after the agreement period . It is this new outfit come re-branding of conservative party that
its proponents have touted as the solution to Kenyans divisive and highly
polarized ethnic politics, while others
indicate that fewer but concrete
political parties are an indicator of Kenya’s growing democracy and in fact their
rival partners in the CORD coalition should consider following. This
development not only manifests the political circus that has characterized our
political system since the entry of multiparty politics in 1992 but also
elicits fundamental question on what ails our
political parties, their set up
and role in a growing democracy like Kenya
Kenya witnesses formation of political parties every
time a general election is in the horizon, today no political party that
participated in the first multiparty general elections stand strong, except
for KANU and Ford Kenya that are in their sunset days, waiting to die a natural
death like Ford Asili and the original Kenya National Congress of George
Anyona. Worth noting equally is that subsequent general elections of 1997, 2002
and 2007 featured many political parties that are now buried deep in the
political grave, name the NDP, PNU, ODM-Kenya, NARC, Social Democratic Party
and Ford People, as a matter of fact TNA and URP are yet to celebrated their
respective 3rd birthday and now face dissolution, casting doubts on
the institutional memory for political parties in Kenya.
Though official records at the registrar of
political parties indicate that the country has 59 registered political parties, the institution of a political party remain very weak, strongly personalized with lack of clear and coordinated structures
, limited internal party democracy ,
no dispute resolution mechanisms and
lack of discipline measures . Kenyan political parties exemplify Hobbecian
state of nature where the rule of law is left for the dogs while anarchy
becomes the tradition, it is no surprise that violent party nominations are
normal, pushing the patriarchal tendencies, secluding women, youth and people living
with disabilities, rewarding sycophancy and political flower girls of the party
leaders.
The muddle with political parties is not just
limited to management and structural issues, parties in Kenya have no
ideological stand, most parties are not any close to the names they carry, some
profuse to be social democrats, republicans but their actions are the opposite,
most have party constitution and guidelines that are never applied or
read. Despite existence of relevant
legal provisions especially the political parties act that is clear on how
political parties are supposed to be run with clear structures on procedures of
filling party posts, nomination processes, dispute resolution and the
management of party coffers received from the government, political parties
continue to show explicit defiance to these laid down procedures and the
inability by the registrar to enforce them worsens the situation.
Political parties in developed democracies design
and set national agenda, push for meaningful reforms, exhibit clear and
structured ways of member recruitment ,play politics of prosperity, are
strictly guided by the rule of law with
clear avenue of dispute resolution and vibrant intra –party democracy, in fact
most of these parties have an illustrious journey of more than a hundred years,
examples of these parties are many including but not limited to the Democratic
Party in US, formed in 1854 with a current estimated membership of 72million
members, and synonymous with liberalism and progressiveness, the same applies
to the Republican Party, with a pedigree stretching to more than
a hundred years; a party Lincoln
used to unite the North and the South in the famous American civil war. Indeed these parties are the true emblem of
what democracy is, they are voter based; conduct civic education and
engagements for its members while others like the Green Party of Germany push
agendas of social justice, human rights, respect for diversity,
environmentalism and non-violent engagement.
Kenyan parties therefore need to self diagnose
themselves and identify where the rain started beating them from and draw parallels to their peers; political parties shouldn’t just be merely vehicles for power that are quickly
disbanded after they lose it and members
join or form other new parties. Focus should be on building parties that will
stand the test of time, parties with strong structures, parties that are accommodative
and those that will defy regional, ethnic and regional huddles, if the new Jubilee
Alliance Party and Cord for that matter do not do that, then we can be sure
that the vicious circle in political parties is here to stay.
The
writer comments on topical and political issues, he is training election and
governance expert and the deputy CEO of intellectus Consultancy, his opinions therefore
do not reflect the position of intellectus consultancy (twitter;@ometeyusuf)
