Political Funding in Kenya

If money is going to be the wild card policy analysts say it will be in the 2012 general election, it is imperative that we have a policy regarding political funding in Kenya. In the last general election campaign, the opacity that surrounded the financing of the campaigns of the major candidates at both the presidential and parliamentary elections gave rise to fears that foreign funds, finances form criminal organisations and funds from foreign powers were being used to influence the outcome of the elections. As a result, the fears that the opacity of political funding engendered contributed to the ensuing violence after the election results were announced by the discredited Electoral Commission of Kenya. 

Indeed, even in the recent bye-elections, the role of money was prominently displayed when only the well-funded could compete in Juja, Makadara and Starehe. It is even rumoured that the winning candidate in Makadara spent upwards of KES 150 million to secure victory. If this is true, then the campaign had nothing to do with the visions of the candidates or their parties, but on the raw power of the money that was poured into the bye-elections. The role of money in these campaigns distorted the playing field, giving undue advantage to the candidate with largest war chest rather than the candidate with the best ideas or policies.

In the United Kingdom and the United States of America, the role of political funding and campaign finance on elections has become steadily controversial, especially over the past decade when a significant war chest can decide the election of a candidate or a party. In the US, Barack Obama and his campaign spent hundreds of millions of dollars in what was billed to have been the most expensive campaign to date. In the United Kingdom, while the sums pale in comparison to those spent in the USA, the three main parties still spent tens of millions of pounds. 

What distinguishes these two democracies, indeed many of the world's developed democracies, is the role their electoral management bodies play in the oversight of how political funding is used during election campaigns, despite their controversial role. These countries have rules and regulations about the sources of political funding, how much can be donated by individuals and corporate and non-corporate bodies, how much can be spent by individual candidates or their parties during campaigns, and how, when and whom to report on the political funding. While these rules and regulations are not watertight, they have played a significant role in leveling the playing field, ensuring that even the voices of the minority are heard during the campaign. For instance, similar rules in Japan led to the resignation of a leader of the party from his party position. Ichiro Ozawa, the Secretary-General of the ruling party was forced to resign his party post due to an investigation by the Japanese authorities into party financing that indicated that the sources of the monies were from undisclosed or impermissible sources.

Kenya is still a fledgling democracy and many of the institutions involved in the management of elections do not have the capacity or will to perform their duty to ensure that elections and referenda are truly free and fair. While we laud the Interim Independent Electoral Commission and its officers for overseeing a peaceful referendum and three bye-elections, it is imperative that we start considering the role of the IIEC and the Registrar of Political Parties to ensure that they are able to monitor how political funding operates with a view to regulating where such funding comes from, who is allowed to donate, how much they can donate, how they money should be employed and reporting mechanisms for the same to ensure that money is not the sole criteria for determining the outcomes of elections or referenda.

The drum beats are already beating for the 2012 general election. 2012 is significant because this will be the first election under the new Constitution. Already pollsters are predicting the relative strengths and weakness of the major players. However, none seems to have started the discussion of the role of money in the elections. It is not too much to speculate that only the well-funded will succeed, given the persistent rumours of voter bribery that accompany ALL elections in Kenya. The IIEC and the Registrar of Political Parties must start the process of formulating rules on political funding. This is crucial as many of the new offices that have been created under the Constitution deserve only the best and the brightest. If we do not hew to the call for political funding reform, we may end up with political dinosaurs, veterans of the KANU era, in key positions because many of them tend to be very wealthy.

The Constitution has provided for a mechanism to devolve power and resources to grassroots Counties. It has also provided for the creation of a Senate to protect the interests of the County governments. The roles of County governments and the Senate in promoting good governance and democracy cannot be gainsaid. They are the bulwark against an overmighty central government and it is imperative that the election of Governors and Senators be truly free and fair, free from the pernicious effects of money on the electorate. Political funding rules are necessary to ensure that candidates for these offices will not only understand the roles of the counties in the allocation and management of national resources, but in the promotion of the rule of law and the protection of the principles of devolution. 

The role of money must be minimised to ensure only those candidates who understand this, and who appreciate the significance of these principles, are elected or are electable. Therefore, the IIEC, the Registrar of Political Parties, political parties and candidates must begin the process of discussing the need for political funding reform. In this way, hopefully, elections will not solely be vehicles for the wealthy and well-connected to attain ultimate political power but will serve to ensure that any and all viable candidates have a fair chance of participating in the governance of this country. Only then can we claim that elections in Kenya are 'free and fair'.