Politicians big winners in new law on campaign cash

KANU chairman and Presidential hopeful Gideon Moi addressing supporters in Kericho town on October 23, 2021. PHOTO | VITALIS KIMUTAI | NMG

By EDWIN MUTAI
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Summary

• Candidates for elective seats, including the presidency, will not be required to issue receipts and keep records for contributions received towards their election war-chests if MPs approve a new Bill.
• The Bill comes a month after MPs rejected a move by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to impose spending caps on campaigns for various elective seats.

Candidates for elective seats, including the presidency, will not be required to issue receipts and keep records for contributions received towards their election war-chests if MPs approve a new Bill.

The Election Campaign (Amendment) Bill, 2021 seeks to remove the current requirement where candidates and political parties which receive contributions issue a receipt for any contribution exceeding Sh20,000.

The Bill also removes the current requirement placed on candidates, political parties or an authorised person seeking to raise funds from harambee to keep a record of the specific details of the fundraiser including the venue, date, organiser of the harambee and the total contributions.

“The Bill, sponsored by Ndaragwa MP Jeremiah Kioni, seeks to amend section 16(1) and (2) of the Act to remove the requirement of issuance of receipts and record keeping.

“A candidate, political party or a referendum committee shall disclose the amount and source of contributions received for campaign for a nomination, an election or a referendum or the case may be.

“A candidate, or a political party or referendum committee which fails to disclose funds or donations as required under this Act commits an offence,” the Bill, which was formally introduced in the National Assembly, states.

The Bill comes a month after MPs rejected a move by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to impose spending caps on campaigns for various elective seats.

The Bill follows last month’s decision by Parliament rejecting spending caps set by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).

The House threw out IEBC regulations that sought to restrict the amount of cash candidates can splash in the 2022 polls.

The House said the electoral agency was time-barred in tabling the Draft Election Campaign Financing Regulations 2020.

The regulations sought to enforce a cap and regulate the amount of money a political party or candidate can spend on elections or referendum campaigns.

In the proposed regulations, the IEBC had capped presidential election financing at Sh4.4 billion, Governors, Senators and Woman Representatives were limited to Sh433 million while MPs had been allowed to spend a maximum of Sh33.4 million.

The IEBC is required under Section 5 of the Election Campaign Financing Act 2013 to make rules, which must be submitted to Parliament for approval at least 12 months before the General Election.

Kenya goes to the General Election on August 9, 2022. The Draft Election Campaign Financing Regulations 2020 must have been passed on or before August 9, 2021.

The rules seek to provide for the regulation, expenditure and accountability of funds during elections and referendum campaigns.

The commission was also required to set out the limit of contributions that a candidate, a political party or a referendum committee may receive from a single source, the limit of a loan that they may receive and the limit of media coverage.

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