IFES Election Guide - Country Profile: Kenya

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Kenya
Republic of Kenya
Region: Africa

Description of government structure:

Chief of State: President Mwai KIBAKI *
Head of Government: Prime Minister Raila ODINGA **
Assembly: Kenya has a bicameral National Assembly (Bunge) consisting of the Senate with 68 seats and the National Assembly with 350 seats.

* To win outright in the first round, one must obtain a majority (50%+1 of the national vote), plus 25% of the vote in at least 50% of counties, which were introduced to decentralize power to the local level and better facilitate people's representation.

** President is both head of state and head of government. The prime minister is charged with coordinating government business.

Description of electoral system:

The President is elected by qualified majority vote to serve a 5-year term.
In the Senate 68 members are elected mixed member majoritarian*. In the National Assembly 350 members are elected mixed member majoritarian.**

* Kenya's 2010 Constitution introduced a Senate directly elected by the 47 single-member districts or counties. Each county has an elected executive and county assembly. On top of these 47 seats, 16 women must be nominated by political parties, according to their proportion of members in the Senate. Additionally, 2 members (1 man and 1 woman) representing the youth must be elected proportionally through party lists, and 2 members (1 man and 1 woman) representing people with disabilities must be elected proportionally through party lists. The speaker of the Senate will be an ex officio member.

** The 2010 Constitution introduced several requirements to better facilitate minority representation and devolve power to the local level. In addition to these 290 parliamentary seats, members are nominated by parliament through party lists, in proportion to their nationwide vote share. They must be apportioned to represent special interests of minorities, youth, and persons with disabilities. In addition, 47 women must be elected by registered voters in the 47 counties. The speaker of the National Assembly will be an ex-officio member.