The Lower Eastern Times Opening The Third Eye
The Political Parties Disputes Tribunal (PPDT) has overturned the Registrar of Political Parties’ decision to reject an application to reserve the name Linda Mwananchi Movement, directing the Registrar to reserve the name within seven days.
The Tribunal ruled that the Registrar had no legal basis to decline the reservation and found that the decision denied the applicants their right to form or participate in the formation of a political party.
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“The decision by the Registrar declining to reserve the name Linda Mwananchi is hereby set aside,” the Tribunal ruled.
The case was brought by Caroli Omondi, Pauline Njoroge and Faith Odhiambo, who identify themselves as founders of the Linda Mwananchi Movement.
The applicants had challenged the Registrar’s refusal to reserve the party name and its proposed abbreviation, LLM, and asked the Tribunal to compel the Registrar to approve the reservation.
The Tribunal also considered the involvement of the Liberty National Democratic Alliance (LINDA), commonly referred to as Linda Party, in the proceedings.
It determined that LINDA was not a fully registered political party and therefore did not have the legal capacity to sue, be sued or participate in proceedings under its own name. As a result, the Tribunal struck out all pleadings filed by LINDA as an interested party.
While the Tribunal granted the applicants’ request to overturn the Registrar’s decision and ordered the reservation of the name within seven days, it declined to grant the applicants’ other requests.
The decision provides a legal boost to the group seeking to establish the Linda Mwananchi Movement, following the dispute over the proposed party name.
