National Assembly Majority leader Aden Duale says political parties are entitled to be funded by the taxpayer.
Duale dismissed claims that Jubilee Party’s demands to have its party primaries conducted by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission and funded by the taxpayer show it is broke.
The Garissa Township MP instead stated that political parties are not private entities, adding, it's constitutional for them to be funded by mwananchi.
“Historically, and even in this electioneering period, Kenyans will go through two elections (party nominations and General Election). Calls to have Jubilee nominations conducted by IEBC and funded by taxpayers are in accordance with the law,” said Duale on Wednesday as quoted by Citizen Digital.
He said there is need for the IEBC to conduct the nominations to prevent corruption and favouritism which he noted have bedeviled previous nominations, and in some instance, resulting in chaos.
“Democracy is expensive and must be funded by the taxpayers, according to the Constitution, and this is evident in all democracies. This is because political parties are not private entities but people-owned,” he said.
He said they want JP’s nominations to be free and fair to ensure the aspirant who will be picked are a reflection of the will of the people.