Gender rule: IEBC Chair candidate Kissinger calls for inclusive and fair party primaries
Kissinger acknowledged that political parties play a crucial role in the election cycle as they are the commission's biggest stakeholders.
Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) chairperson candidate Francis Kakai Kissinger has highlighted the ongoing challenges political parties face during primaries, particularly in ensuring fair and inclusive candidate lists.
Appearing before the IEBC selection panel on Tuesday, Kissinger discussed the issues that arise during party primaries, particularly the difficulties in ensuring representative candidate lists.
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Kissinger acknowledged that political parties play a crucial role in the election cycle as they are the commission's biggest stakeholders.
However, he noted that the nomination process in every election cycle often creates significant problems, leading to confusion and disputes within the parties.
Kissinger identified the core issue as a failure of political parties to adhere to constitutional requirements regarding the representation of women, minorities, and persons with disabilities (PWDs) in their candidate lists.
"The biggest problem with the political parties comes from their respective constitutions and what they say when it comes to coming up with a party list for candidates," Kissinger stated.
"They do not try to ensure that the gender rule is observed in those primaries," he added, stressing that such lapses often lead to disputes and confusion within the parties.
He explained that these discrepancies arise because many political party constitutions do not prioritise gender equality, minority representation, or the inclusion of PWDs, resulting in contentious and chaotic primaries.
"The issue of PWDs, women, and minorities is not observed in the party lists, and that's where the problem, anarchy, and confusion usually arise whenever political parties are conducting their primaries."
Kissinger also addressed the financial challenges faced by women candidates, particularly the lack of resources to participate in the election process. To resolve these challenges, Kissinger proposed a multi-pronged approach.
"There has to be strong stakeholder engagement of the political parties to relook at their constitutions and rules in terms of nominations," he said.
The IEBC chairperson candidate suggested leveraging the Political Parties Liaison Committee (PPLC) to facilitate dialogue between political parties and the IEBC.
Furthermore, Kissinger called on the IEBC to adopt stricter rules for accepting party lists. "IEBC must have very strict rules on when to accept these lists and when not to," he emphasised.
While recognising that a proper framework for gender-sensitive party lists is lacking, he argued that alternative means must be explored to ensure more representative lists.
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