Office of the Registrar of Political Parties (ORPP) Issues New Directives to Political Parties
According to Ann Nderitu, the Registrar of Political Parties, Azimio la Umoja, One Kenya Alliance (OKA), and the Kenya Kwanza alliance will now have until April 9 to file their coalition agreements.
Leah Mukangai 
The ORPP also overturned a previous directive issued to contestants seeking electoral office, which prohibited them from running as independent candidates if they did not receive party nomination tickets.
Nderitu has also issued relief to candidates who did not pass their party's preliminary elections as they will now have a 10-day window to register as independent candidates.
This announcement comes a day after Gideon Moi (Kanu), Martha Karua (Narc Kenya), Kalonzo Musyoka (Wiper), and Charles Jirongo (United Democratic Party) postponed the signing of their coalition agreement earlier this week. The signing of the coalition agreement was postponed since the leader of the Narc Kenya Party requested more time to analyze and seek clarity on the document's unclear areas.
From left: Raila Odinga, Kalonzo Musyoka and DP William Ruto.PHOTO FILE
"We were to sign our coalition agreement today but we have postponed to polish certain legal issues. Nevertheless, we are committed to our unity. We shall be letting you know the time we shall sign the agreement," remarked the OKA principals.
While President Uhuru Kenyatta's Jubilee Party has pledged to work with the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) under the Azimio la Umoja umbrella, the two parties are yet to confirm whether their alliance is a coalition or not. The ODM party and the Jubilee party are yet to announce a strategy that will be used during primaries to avoid looming sibling rivalry, particularly in places where the two parties have nearly equal support.
The newly formed Kenya Kwanza, which brought together Deputy President William Ruto's United Democratic Alliance (UDA), Moses Wetangula's Ford Kenya, and Musalia Mudavadi's Amani National Congress (ANC), is also yet to submit its coalition agreement, despite the fact that the UDA's National Delegates Conference is scheduled for March 15.
