Two political parties that were trying to get out of the Azimio la Umoja-One Kenya Coalition Party have failed in their bid to do so after the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties (ORPP) declined to sanction their requests.
Registrar of Political Parties Ann Nderitu has informed officials of Maendeleo Chap Chap and Pamoja African Alliance (PAA) that as per the Azimio coalition agreement, they will remain constituent parties until they meet the conditions for withdrawal.
“Your attention is drawn to the provisions of the Third Schedule to the PPA (Political Parties Act) and the Azimio coalition agreement that stipulate the procedure for a party to either join or exit the coalition,” Ms Nderitu wrote in separate letters to the two parties.
According to the Azimio coalition agreement, no constituent party will be able to leave the coalition for at least a year. It provides that no party can bolt out of the coalition at least six months to the August 9 General Election.
A member of the coalition party who intends to exit will only be able to do so at least three months after the elections.
Even then, a member who wishes to exit can only do so after giving a 90-days’ notice to the Coalition Council, which will be the second-highest organ of the coalition party.
“No party may withdraw from the coalition six months before the August 2022 General Election or within three months after the date of the said General Election,” the agreement states in Article 22 under the heading ‘Withdrawal of Parties’.
A section of officials of Maendeleo Chap Chap had on April 27 written to the registrar asking that the party be allowed to exit Azimio. They accused the party leader, Machakos Governor Dr Alfred Mutua of failing to follow the procedure before committing the party to Azimio. “The party leader is not one of the signatories in signing agreements,” the letter to Ms Nderitu states. They alleged that the party did not call a special delegates conference to adopt the proposal to join Azimio.
But Ms Nderitu responded that Maendeleo Chap Chap duly executed the coalition agreement and that her hands were tied in so far as acquiescing to their request for withdrawal is concerned.
“Azimio is already a registered coalition political party in terms of Section 7(7) of the Political Parties Act, 2011 and the Political Parties (Registration) Regulation, 2019, hence the Registrar has no mandate to sanction the withdrawal as per your request, save for where due process outlined in the coalition agreement has been followed,” says Ms Nderitu.
At the same time, PAA which is associated with Kilifi Governor Amason Kingi had also sought to be allowed to exit Azimio.
“We confirm that PAA vide its letter dated April 25, 2022, has written to the Registrar of Political Parties seeking to withdraw from the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition Party for reasons stated therein,” PAA said in a statement.
PAA was arguing that its National Executive Committee did not ratify the coalition agreement, that the party resolved to join a coalition and not a coalition party, and finally that the party has not been furnished with a copy of the coalition agreement.
Like Maendeleo Chap Chap, the registrar says the request by PAA cannot be sanctioned at this time.
However, the Registrar directed the Azimio secretariat to furnish both Maendeleo Chap Chap and PAA with copies of the coalition agreement.
