Registrar of Political Parties Ann Nderitu announced the allocation of funds to various political parties for the Financial Year 2023/2024, with the ruling United Democratic Alliance (UDA) receiving the largest share at over Ksh.316 million. This allocation follows the second revision of the Supplementary Estimates.
In a gazette notice published on Friday, Ms. Nderitu stated that the initial allocation of the Political Parties Fund was revised from the first revision in January 2024, where UDA was set to receive Ksh.237 million.
The opposition Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) saw an increase in its allocation from Ksh.127 million in January to Ksh.168 million in June. The Jubilee party’s funds were increased from Ksh.55 million to Ksh.74 million, while the Wiper Democratic Movement’s allocation rose from Ksh.29 million to Ksh.39 million. The Kenya African National Union (KANU) also saw an increase from Ksh.9 million to Ksh.13 million.
The gazette notice stated, “In exercise of the powers conferred by sections 23, 25, and 34 of the Political Parties Act, 2011 and Regulation 6 of the Political Parties (Funding) Regulations 2019, the Registrar of Political Parties gives notice that Political Parties Fund (PPF) allocation has been revised during Supplementary Estimates No. 2 of FY 2023/24 and this has necessitated review of the distribution of the Fund.” The allocated funds will be distributed upon receipt from the National Treasury.
Despite these increases, the June allocations represent significant decreases from the Financial Year 2022/2023. In November 2022, UDA received over half a billion shillings, ODM received Ksh.38 million, Jubilee received Ksh.135 million, and Wiper received Ksh.72 million.
According to Section 25 of the Political Parties Act, 95 per cent of the Political Parties Fund is allocated based on the total number of votes each political party secured in the preceding General Election, while 5 per cent is allocated for the administration expenses of the Fund.
A political party will not receive funding if it fails to secure at least 5 per cent of the total votes in the previous General Election. Additionally, funding will be denied if more than two-thirds of its registered office bearers are of the same gender.
