Because there were a lot of recommendations about the potential running mate for the NDC in the media at the time, I felt compelled to remark on the matter and have it published on November 22, 2023. I refrained from doing so due to the fact that a prominent candidate, whose 72nd birthday happened on that particular day, was not in Kenya and the day did not appear suitable out of politeness.
I’m concerned about how the NPP and NDC handle their supporters and the voting public.
The general consensus is that the political elite purposefully subverts the sovereignty of the people, which is guaranteed by Article 1 and emphasized under several other provisions of the Constitution, such as Article 55 of the 1992 Constitution, which also specifically enjoins that “the internal organization of political parties shall conform to democratic principles and its actions and purposes shall not contravene or be inconsistent with this Constitution or any other law.”
There are still some unresolved disputes over the political parties’ commitment to the democratic norms outlined in the 1992 Constitution as a result of the NPP and NDC’s nominations for presidential candidates.
The recent NPP and NDC primaries have revealed that both parties have changed since 2008 and adopted the traits of a well-established bureaucratic organization. Party leaders who have ascended through the ranks over the previous 31 years view the party as a means to an end in and of itself, and they defend it as a part of a larger, interconnected political party organization.