The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) has said that they will monitor nominations of three major political parties in the country.
This, KNCHR says, is aimed at ensuring human rights are not violated during the exercise.
According to the commission’s director in charge of research and advocacy Anna Okutoi, political party nominations are a cornerstone of the country’s democracy.
Political parties are expected to hold their nominations between April and May.
One of the popular parties, based on recent surveys, the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) has scheduled its nomination to be held between 9th and 16th April 2022, across all counties.
Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) and Jubilee are the other two popular parties in the country with footprints in most parts.
The human rights commission has also said that it will monitor political campaigns ahead of the August 9 poll.
“We shall also monitor campaigns and the August submission and tallying of results to avoid scenarios that might border on human rights violations,” said Okutoi.
KNCHR says it is committed to ensuring every Kenyan exercises their democratic right by participating in the upcoming poll and voting for their preferred candidates without any intimidation.
“We will work to ensure that we have a cohesive environment that cares for human rights,” said Okutoi.
Past political party primaries have witnessed incidences of violence, especially in areas the parties enjoy massive support, where nomination results mirror the final results for the real polls.
Already political leaders eyeing various seats have started engaging in heated campaigns ahead of the nominations.
