Minting mi*lions from party tickets
Political parties with large followings are reveling in good fortune as thousands of aspirants seek nominations for various seats.
Rough estimations show that the leading parties associated with Deputy President William Ruto, Raila Odinga, Kalonzo Musyoka and Musalia Mudavadi are raking in millions of shillings from aspirants.
Indeed, many parties have extended the application periods to provide more time for candidates to bank money and get clearance. Aspirants are parting with huge amounts of money to get the greenlight to be included in the parties’ lists before the March 26 deadline. The nominations are slated for mid-April.
Although the leading parties are charging premium rates for the tickets, they are reporting huge traffic to their offices as desperate aspirants line up to be cleared.
Orange Democratic Movement, United Democratic Alliance, Wiper Movement, Jubilee and Amani National Congress have reported a hive of activity in their offices this week, with aspirants waiting for long hours to get clearance.
Others that have attracted interest are Kanu, Ford-Kenya, DAP-K, Chama Cha Kazi and Farmers Party.
Riding on their popularity, these parties have tagged a high price on their tickets, hoping to reap as much as possible from aspirants.
UDA, which is participating in elections for the first time, has reported a huge appetite for its tickets, with reports indicating it has registered over 5,000 aspirants for various seats across the country. The party said it could not yet ascertain the exact number of aspirants for each post.
All the leading parties are charging amounts ranging from Sh500,000 for governor aspirants, Sh250,000 for MPs, Senator and Woman Representative, and Sh50,000 for MCA posts.
They have, however, introduced affirmative intervention for women and youths who will pay half of the figures. In addition, ODM is charging Sh250,000 for anyone who wants to be a deputy governor.
Mathira MP Rigathi Gachagua, who is a senior UDA member, said there was huge interest in the party, which has entered into a coalition with ANC and Ford Kenya to form Kenya Kwanza Alliance. “UDA party has become a mass movement with over 5,000 paid-up aspirants as of this evening (last Friday),” said Gachagua.
Yesterday, UDA asked those who have submitted their details to contact them if they fail to get a confirmation text by yesterday. “We will be sending SMS confirmation to all our aspirants with their nomination details.
“If you do not receive an SMS by 6pm on Sunday, March 6 2022, please contact the UDA head office,” it said in a statement.
The two leading parties, ODM and UDA, will field candidates in most of the 1,450 wards, 290 constituencies and 47 counties, although they are in talks with parties within their coalitions to support partner parties in particular zones.
ODM is a key member of the Azimio la Umoja movement while UDA is a member of the Kenya Kwanza Alliance.
With each getting at least two aspirants for governorship in over 30 counties, they are making at least Sh30 million for the race alone. The MCA seat is also bringing in lots of money as the parties are looking at having candidates in over half of the wards, which roughly translates to Sh75 million if two candidates show interest.
They will also make a fortune from other seats across the country.
In a notice, the chairperson of ODM’s National Elections Board, Catherine Mumma, said they would accept applications for governor, senator, MP, Woman Representative and MCA.
“All aspirants are advised to familiarise themselves with the Constitution and laws relating to elections, the party’s constitution and party primaries, and nomination rules and to ensure their applications meet all the standards and requirements,” she said. The party is receiving aspirants’ applications until next Sunday.
Jubilee Party, led by President Uhuru Kenyatta, is also eyeing a share of the nominations fortune after extending the period for candidates to obtain its tickets to March 11.
The nominations windfall has also awoken hitherto dormant parties, which are keen to have a bite of the pie by offering cheaper and direct tickets.
Farmers Party chairman Irungu Nyakera told ‘People Daily’ it was offering aspirants the possibility of getting direct tickets, adding that they would not hold nominations.
The party is charging Sh250,000 for those seeking its tickets for governor, Sh150,000 for senator, Sh75,000 for MPs and Sh35, 000 for Ward representatives. It is charging half the amount to women and youth.
“We have eight aspirants for governor seats, 11 for Senate, 15 Woman Representatives, 24 Members of Parliament and 89 members of county assemblies,” he said.
