Mudavadi's ANC party on road to full registration

Former Deputy Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi’s Amani National Congress party (ANC) has finally established offices in more than 24 counties as part of a compliance requirement to secure full registration.

ANC Secretary-General Godfrey Osotsi said they had also recruited more than 200,000 members in a continuous programme since it was issued a provisional registration certificate by Registrar of Political Parties Lucy Ndung’u in March this year.

Ms Ndung’u confirmed that ANC had been issued with a provisional registration certificate in March, and that it was supposed to popularise itself in the next 180 days.

“They have a provisional certificate, they are required to submit applications within the 180 days after opening at least 24 offices in 24 counties, and registering 1,000 members from each of the counties among other requirements,” she told The Standard on Saturday.

According to the Political Parties Act 2011, a provisionally registered party also qualifies for full registration if it has a minimal membership of 200 voters registered for parliamentary elections in each region and has on its governing body a member from each region that is a resident or is registered to vote there, among others.

Osotsi, however, noted the party was on the right track towards meeting all the requirements for full registration in readiness for Mudavadi’s presidential contest in the 2017 general election.

“Most of the offices have been opened in Western, Nyanza and Rift Valley regions but we will ensure our presence is felt in all the 47 counties. We are meeting the cost of opening the offices through party resources and support by well-wishers,” noted Osotsi.

Osotsi said ANC is a national party whose focus goes beyond Western Kenya, and should therefore not be tied to divisive regional politics.
“The aims and objectives of the ANC are to establish a democratic, constitutional, just and accountable Government of Kenya founded upon the national values and principles of governance as enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of Kenya.” said Osotsi, a Nairobi information technology expert and businessman.

He said ANC was out to entrench devolution as a constitutional principle of governance and work towards eradication of all forms of discrimination including tribalism, sexism, racism, religious bigotry and all forms of xenophobia.