Dj Vnyash
Registrar of Political Parties Ann Nderitu has announced the distribution of funds to political parties for the Financial Year 2023/2024, with the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) receiving the largest share at slightly over Ksh. 316 million. This allocation, detailed in a gazette notice published on Friday, follows the second revision of the Supplementary Estimates.
Earlier in January 2024, the initial allocation for UDA was Ksh. 237 million, which was subsequently increased. The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) saw its funding rise from Ksh. 127 million in January to Ksh. 168 million in the latest allocation. Meanwhile, Jubilee Party’s allocation increased from Ksh. 55 million to Ksh. 74 million, and the Wiper Democratic Movement saw its funds rise from Ksh. 29 million to Ksh. 39 million. Kenya African National Union (KANU) also received an increase from Ksh. 9 million to Ksh. 13 million.
The notice indicates that these allocations are subject to receipt from the National Treasury and reflect adjustments from previous funding levels, which were higher in the Financial Year 2022/2023. For instance, UDA received over Ksh. 500 million in the November 2022 allocation, whereas ODM received Ksh. 38 million, Jubilee Ksh. 135 million, and Wiper Ksh. 72 million.
Under Section 25 of the Political Parties Act, funding is distributed based on the total number of votes each party secured in the preceding General Election, with 95% of the Fund allocated accordingly and 5% covering administration expenses. Parties failing to secure at least 5% of the total votes or having more than two-thirds of their registered office bearers of the same gender are ineligible for funding.
Silverio Omari
