Ethical, moral issues were overlooked during nominations, TI

Some political parties during the nominations did not vet nor clear their candidates.

Speaking on the Kenya Decides show hosted by Serfine Achieng on Tuesday, Derrick Mahandia, a programmes officer at Transparency International noted that ethical and moral standards were overlooked by the parties during the nomination period.

“Everyone just came into the parties and was allowed to participate in the nominations he said adding that political parties should be the first gatekeepers in ethical roles.”

Mahandia however said that some parties actually blocked candidates citing Ann Ngirita’s case. Jubilee Party rejected her application to vie for the Nakuru Woman Representative seat until she is cleared by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC).

On his part, Mulle Musau, National Coordinator in the Elections Observation Group (ELOG) said that a new phenomenon has actually come into play with the direct nominations and consensus in the political party processes.

“Political parties may not have the resources to conduct a totally clean nomination process. The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission requires over Ksh 40 billion to conduct a National election and I don’t think there’s any political party that has the financial muscle to do the same,” noted Musau.

He however said that the idea of debating as a party who comes on board and who they grant tickets to gives an opportunity to the leadership of the party to vet candidates.

In conclusion, Musau noted that what is lacking in the political system is predictability and the lack of consistency in the governing rules which are more often applied selectively.

Listen in to the Full Interview here –>