KACC TO VET 2012 CANDIDATES

Monday, 16 May 2011 00:05 BY STAR TEAM

TALKING TOUGH: Justice Minister Mutula Kilonzo

Politicians tainted with corruption will be barred from contesting in the 2012 General Election. Justice and Constitutional Affairs minister Mutula Kilonzo and the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission director PLO Lumumba hinted that stringent electoral laws are in the pipeline to ensure only graft-free candidates are cleared to run for electoral office. The new rules will be included in two different Bills — the Elections Bill 2011 and the Political Parties Bill 2011.
KACC boss Lumumba said politicians under investigations for corruption or those already charged will not be cleared. He said Chapter Six of the Constitution, that deals with leadership and integrity, is clear that persons tainted with corruption cannot seek political office. “It is our hope that based on Chapter Six of the Constitution, Parliament will enact laws whereby individuals who have credible ongoing investigations or have already been charged, do not participate in the elections,” Lumumba said.
Lumumba said the commission is pushing for the enactment of a law similar to the one enacted in Tanzanian which requires that presidential candidates and their political parties declare the amount and sources of their campaign funds before an election and compels them to declare how they spent the money after the polls.
He further said the commission is pushing for enactment of legislation to give KACC the teeth to vet political candidates, especially those seeking high positions before such individuals are cleared to contest. “As we speak, we do not have clear legislation for such vetting, though the Interim Independent Electoral Commission has asked us to vet candidates for Kamukunji and Ikolomani. What we want, as the country moves forward, is a legal point for this vetting,” Lumumba said.
Those who have declared their intentions to run for presidency include Prime Minister Raila Odinga, Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka, deputy Premier and Minister for Finance Uhuru Kenyatta and Eldoret North MP William Ruto.
Others in the race include Gichugu MP Martha Karua, Saboti MP Eugene Wamalwa and Gatanga MP Peter Kenneth and Information minister Samuel Poghisio.  These candidates will be under closer scrutiny from Kenyans if the proposed changes to the electoral law are implemented.
The proposed Elections Bill is an amalgamation of 17 pieces of elections-related laws which existed under the old constitution under different acts. The proposed Bill is one of the recommendations of the Kriegler Commission which investigated the 2007 election fiasco.
Punishment for electoral offences have also been enhanced. Electoral officers found guilty of interfering with records or tampering with elections will now be fined Sh1 million, serve a five year jail term or both.
Voters who accept money, food, refreshments and other inducements from a politician in order to vote or not to vote for a particular candidate will also face similar punishment as will voters who sell or purport to sell their cards to candidates. Candidates or their agents who bribe or buy voters' cards will also face similar punishment.
Apart from the stringent rules for the conduct of elections contained in the Elections Bill, the Interim Independent Electoral Commission, in collaboration with the Registrar of Political Parties, has been working on tougher rules which the commission intends to put to test during the 2012 elections.
These rules — contained in the proposed Political Parties Bill — are expected to be enacted by June 23, according to the schedule of Bills for enactment released by the Constitution Implementation Commission last week.
Among the rules is a declaration of expenditure for each and every candidate supported by the party during an election right from the councillor's to the presidential candidate.
Apart from the identity of the candidate, his or her party membership number and physical address, the parties will be required to clearly state how much money the candidate has received and how it has been spent. The candidate's contribution is also expected to be declared as well as the amounts and identities of other people or institutions who contributed to the candidate's campaign.
The  new rules were developed in collaboration with Ministry of Finance, the office of the Auditor and Controller General, Transparency International, the Kenya Law Reform, the Institute of Education in Democracy (IED) and the National Democratic Institute (NDI).
If implemented, the rules will make for a more transparent election process and will expose candidates who have in the past used questionably acquired resources to win elections. They are also aimed at checking political parties expenses and bring an end to the unorthodox means of raising campaign funds which some of the candidates and parties used in the run-up to the 2007 elections such as the pyramid schemes in which thousands of investors were swindled out of billions.