MP Mulu blames ethnic politics for Kenya’s growing number of parties

Kitui Central MP Makali Mulu has called for tougher requirements for registering political parties in Kenya, warning that the growing number of political formations is weakening internal democracy and turning party leadership into a bargaining tool for politicians seeking influence in coalition negotiations.

Mulu argued that some politicians establish parties not to advance clear political ideologies but to secure positions in coalition talks and benefit from public funding, even when their formations have little or no elected representation.

Speaking during an interview on Radio Generation's Power File show on Monday, November 9, the legislator said Kenya needed to move away from parties built around ethnic and regional interests towards formations driven by clear policies and ideological positions.

According to the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties, Kenya had 107 fully registered political parties as of October 2026, a development that has renewed questions about the role and effectiveness of the country's multiparty system.

Mulu took issue with coalition arrangements that allow party leaders to assume influential positions in negotiations simply because they head registered political formations, regardless of their parties' strength in elected offices.

"The fact that you are party leader, you assume the title of principal when it comes to coalition formation," he said.

He questioned why leaders of parties with elected Members of Parliament and Members of County Assemblies should have the same standing at coalition negotiation tables as those heading parties without a single elected representative.

The MP also pointed to public funding as another reason politicians are attracted to forming political parties, arguing that even formations with very few elected leaders can qualify for a share of taxpayers' money.

"That is another attractive factor. Now that they are getting funding from the Political Parties Fund, you find some of them where they have only two MCAs or one Member of Parliament, they would definitely get a share of that fund," he said.

His remarks come against the backdrop of the Political Parties Fund's allocation of Sh1.4065 billion for the 2026/2027 financial year, with 48 political parties gazetted as eligible to receive funding through Gazette Notice No. 13697 published on August 24, 2026.

The United Democratic Alliance (UDA) was allocated the largest share of Sh549.97 million, followed by the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), which qualified for Sh293.78 million. The Jubilee Party ranked third with an allocation of Sh128.86 million.

Mulu said the way political parties conduct their internal affairs also needed to change, particularly during nominations, to ensure members and aspirants have confidence in the process.

He argued that credible and fair party primaries would discourage politicians from creating new political outfits whenever they fear losing nominations in their existing parties.

The legislator pointed to the United States and the United Kingdom as examples of countries where political parties are largely organised around established ideologies, giving voters a clearer understanding of what different formations stand for.

He further criticised the growing preference for coalition agreements instead of outright party mergers, saying the reluctance to dissolve existing parties reflected a lack of trust among political leaders.

According to Mulu, many politicians are unwilling to surrender their party identities because they fear losing influence or being excluded from future political arrangements.

To address the situation, he proposed raising the requirements for registering political parties, arguing that stricter rules would discourage the proliferation of formations with limited political reach.

"I would suggest we push the threshold a bit higher, so that we don't get all these many parties," he said.

Mulu maintained that Kenya's political environment remained heavily influenced by regional and ethnic considerations, unlike established democracies where parties compete largely through their ideological positions and policy proposals.

"If you look at other parts of the country where democracy has grown, parties are formed on the basis of more ideology than our case. Our case is more regional, so you find you have regional parties. You have tribal parties," he said.

He said strengthening internal party democracy, improving nomination processes and encouraging ideology-based political formations would help reduce the number of parties while making multiparty democracy more meaningful.