KANU national delegates conference at Bomas of Kenya brings back the never-ending debate on why many Kenyan political parties’ dissolve after the general election.
With 11 months to 2022 general election, numerous political parties have been fronted by politicians as their preferred parties with increased party-hopping among them.
As of now the party of independence, KANU and ODM are the only parties in Kenya to have fielded different presidential candidates in General Election with a national outlook to their structures.
Political parties for years have been considered an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections with members of a party holding on to similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological goals.
The Communist Party of China (CCP) has long been the benchmark on how political parties are to be founded and run. The party traces its origins to the May Fourth Movement of 1919, during which radical Western ideologies like Marxism and anarchism gained traction among the Chinese.
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The ideological symmetry between the founders and successive members has seen the party stand the test of time. In Africa, parties such as the Africa National Congress (ANC) of South Africa and Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM) of Tanzania have managed to go more than three decades.
All these parties have one common denominator and that being they were founded on the same ideologies of uniting people for independence and finally building the nation to greater according to the initial ideas of their founding fathers.
The existence of KANU is not a surprise to anyone who understands the ideals and aspirations the party stood for during the years leading up to independence.
The party was founded as African political leaders in Kenya came together and in one voice demanded for Kenya’s freedom from colonial powers and at the time had their leaders released.
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Jubilee party during its official launch in September 2016 promised to be the next party to withstand the test of time but numerous wrangles have seen it disintegrate to a shell of its former self.
A more robust legislation on the Political Parties Act, 2011 is needed to control the formation of parties rather than having numerous parties formed as vehicles to power or tribal alignments.
A mature democracy is not measured by the number of political parties a country has but by the ability to listen and act on the views of the people.
The United States of America, considered one of the most mature democracies consists of two main political parties pegged on their ideologies rather than cult of person or necessity.
The 2022 General Election may spring yet more surprises, with experts saying that ethnic issues, which have traditionally played an important role in Kenyan politics, may no longer carry the weight they once did in a country with 44 tribes.
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“Ethnic affiliations will still matter at the ballot box, but they will not be the main discussion topic,” said Kenyan political analyst Nerima Wako-Ojiwa.It remains to be seen if United Democratic Alliance formed by deputy president William Ruto has a strong ideological foundation of economic empowerment of the youth as he alludes and is not a vessel with populist rhetoric to take him to State House in the 2022 general election.
The writer is Didacus Malowa, a political and current affairs editor at TUKO.co.ke.
The views expressed here are his and do not reflect the position of TUKO.co.ke
Source: TUKO.co.ke
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