Political Parties Fund Allocations: UDA Leads with Ksh.316M
Ann Nderitu, Registrar of Political Parties, unveiled the latest disbursements for the Financial Year 2023/2024. The ruling United Democratic Alliance (UDA) emerged as the top beneficiary, receiving slightly over Ksh.316 million.
Increase in Allocations
In a gazette notice released on Friday, Ms. Nderitu attributed the revised allocations to the second Supplementary Estimates. Initially slated to receive Ksh.237 million, UDA saw an upward adjustment due to this revision.
Opposition Party Allocations
Conversely, the opposition Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) experienced an increase in funds from Ksh.127 million to Ksh.168 million in the June allocation.
Other Parties’ Share
Jubilee, another prominent political entity, received Ksh.74 million, up from Ksh.55 million previously allocated. The Wiper Democratic Movement also saw an increase from Ksh.29 million to Ksh.39 million. Additionally, the Kenya African National Union (KANU) received Ksh.13 million, up from Ksh.9 million.
Legal Basis and Distribution
The gazette notice cited sections 23, 25, and 34 of the Political Parties Act, 2011, and Regulation 6 of the Political Parties (Funding) Regulations 2019 as the legal framework for the revised allocations. Funds will be disbursed upon receipt from the National Treasury.
Comparison with Previous Years
Despite the increases over the January 2024 allocations, the figures represent significant decreases from the previous Financial Year 2022/2023. For instance, in November 2022, UDA received over Ksh.500 million, while ODM received Ksh.38 million, Jubilee Ksh.135 million, and Wiper Ksh.72 million.
Funding Criteria
According to Section 25 of the Political Parties Act, 95% of the fund is distributed based on the total votes garnered by each party in the preceding General Election. The remaining 5% covers administrative expenses.
Eligibility Criteria
Notably, parties failing to secure at least 5% of the total votes in the previous General Election are ineligible for funding. Moreover, parties where more than two-thirds of the registered office bearers are of the same gender are also disqualified from receiving funding.
