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Elections in Kenya take place within the framework of a multi-party democracy and apresidential system. ThePresident,Senate andNational Assembly are directly elected by voters, with elections organised by theIndependent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).
Nationwide elections have taken place inKenya since 1920, when thefirst elections to theLegislative Council were held. The legislature initially had 11 electedEuropeans and three members appointed to representIndians and Arabs, together with a number of nominated officials. By thenext elections in 1924, suffrage had been extended to Indians and Arabs, with five seats given to the Indian community and one to the Arabs, as well as one seat appointed to represent the majority African population. However, the Indian community demanded equal representation with the Europeans, and when this was not forthcoming, boycotted the elections, with not a single Indian candidate standing. This boycott continued for the1927 elections, although one Indian candidate did stand.
All five Indian seats were filled by election in the1931 elections, and further elections took place under the same system in1934,1938,1944 and1948. Prior to the1952 elections the number of European seats was increased to 14 and the Indian seats to six, with six African members appointed. The same system was used in1956, but in March 1957elections were held for eight African seats, the first time the African population had been able to vote.
The1961 elections were the first held under universal suffrage, although 20 of the 65 seats in the expanded Council were reserved for Europeans (10), Indians (8) and Arabs (2). TheKenya African National Union (KANU) emerged as the largest party, winning 19 seats and taking 67.5% of the vote. The electoral system was changed again prior to the1963 elections, with the creation of a 129-seat House of Representatives and a 38-seat Senate. KANU won a majority in the House of Representatives and the most seats in the Senate, allowingJomo Kenyatta to become the first Prime Minister, and upon independence the following year, President.
Multi-party politics remained in place for a few years after independence; when several KANU MPs left the party to form theKenya People's Union (KPU) in 1966, a constitutional amendment was passed requiring them to face by-elections. This came to be known as thelittle general election, in which the KPU received a majority of the vote, but KANU won more than 60% of the seats. Later in the year the Senate was abolished, as it was merged with the House of Representatives to form the National Assembly. The KPU was subsequently banned in 1969 and Kenya became aone-party state. As a result, KANU won every seat in elections in1969,1974,1979,1983 and1988, with the elections seeing multiple KANU candidates run against each other.
With the wave of democratisation sweeping across Africa in the early 1990s, multi-party politics was reintroduced, together with the direct election of the president.General elections took place in 1992, and saw KANU retain control of the government, with PresidentDaniel arap Moi re-elected with 36% of the vote and KANU winning 100 of the 188 seats in the National Assembly. Moi was re-elected again in1997 with 40% of the vote, whilst KANU retained its parliamentary majority, taking 107 of the 210 seats.
The2002 elections saw KANU's first defeat; Moi stood down and the KANU candidateUhuru Kenyatta was defeated byMwai Kibaki of theNational Rainbow Coalition (NARC) alliance. NARC also won a majority in the National Assembly. However, the coalition fell apart as a result of the2005 referendum, and Kibaki's former allyRaila Odinga became his principal opponent in the2007 elections. Although Kibaki was declared the winner in the presidential contest, opposition parties won a majority of seats in the National Assembly. Accusations of electoral fraud were made, resulting inviolence that left around 1,000 dead. The following year theNational Accord and Reconciliation Act 2008 was passed and Odinga became the first Prime Minister since 1964.
A new constitution was introduced in 2010, and the first elections were held under it in2013. Running as theJubilee Alliance candidate, Uhuru Kenyatta defeated Odinga, receiving 50.5% of the vote. Although Kenyatta'sNational Alliance emerged as the largest party in the re-established Senate, Odinga'sOrange Democratic Movement won the most seats in the National Assembly, with 96 of the 349 seats. The2017 general elections saw Kenyatta defeat Odinga again for the presidency, with Kenyatta'sJubilee Party winning the most seats in the National Assembly and Senate. However, the presidential election results were annulled and are-run held in October, which was won by Kenyatta after a boycott by Odinga. In the2022 electionsWilliam Ruto defeated Odinga in the presidential elections, Odinga'sAzimio la Umoja coalition won the most seats in the National Assembly, while Ruto'sKenya Kwanza alliance won the most seats in the Senate.
Two nationwide referendums have been held in Kenya, both on proposed new constitutions. A2005 referendum saw the proposed constitution rejected by 58% of voters, whilst a2010 referendum saw a new constitution approved by 69% of voters.
The 2010 constitution provides for atwo-round system for presidential elections, the president having previously been elected on afirst-past-the-post basis. To win in the first round, a candidate is required to receive over 50% of the vote, as well as 25% of the vote in at least 24counties.[1][2]
The National Assembly has 350 members, of which 290 are elected in single-member constituencies and 47 are reserved for women and are elected from single-member constituencies based on the 47counties; all are elected byfirst-past-the-post voting.[3] The remaining 13 seats include 12 nominated by political parties based on their number of seats and a Speaker.[4]
The Senate has 68 seats, of which 47 are elected from single-member constituencies based on the counties using first-past-the-post, and the remaining 21 are appointed; 16 women based on party's seat numbers, two representing disabled groups and two representing youth (both of which must consist of a male and female nominee) and one elected Speaker.[5]
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