Kenya: President, 29 October 2017

At stake in this election:

• The office of the President of the Republic of Kenya

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Uhuru KENYATTA (since 9 April 2013)
• Head of Government: President Uhuru KENYATTA (since 9 April 2013)
• Assembly: Kenya has a bicameral Parliament consisting of the Senate with 68 seats and National Assembly with 350 seats.

Description of electoral system:

§  The President is elected by qualified majority vote. To be elected, a candidate must win at least half of the votes cast in the election nationwide, in addition to winning at least 25% of the votes cast in 24 of Kenya’s 47 counties. If no candidate wins in the first round of the election, a run-off between the top two candidates will be held within 30 days.

Note on this Election:

• The election was originally scheduled for and held on 8 August 2017. Incumbent Uhuru KENYATTA won the election with 54.3% of the vote. Opposition leader Raila ODINGA filed a petition contesting the results, and the Kenyan Supreme Court annulled the results on 1 September. A new election had to be held within 60 days of the annulment and was scheduled for 26 October. Boycotts in 25 of 291 districts prevented voters from reaching the polls. In March 2018, Raila ODINGA and Uhuru KENYATTA publicly agreed that KENYATTA had been elected president.

Main candidates in the election:

• Uhuru KENYATTA
  • Jubilee Party of Kenya
• Raila ODINGA
  • National Super Alliance
• Ekuru AUKOT
  • Thirdway Alliance Kenya
• Abduba DIDA
  • Alliance for Real Change
• Cyrus JIRONGO
  • United Democratic Party
• Japheth KALUYU
  • Independent
• Michael MWAURA
  • Independent
• Joseph NYAGAH
  • Independent

Last Election:

• In 2013, Uhuru KENYATTA was elected President, winning 50.51% of the votes in the first round of the election.  

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 46,790,758 (July 2016 est.)
• Registered Voters: 19,611,423 (10 July 2017)

Gender Data:

• Female Population: 23,451,450 (July 2016 est.)
• Is Kenya a signatory to CEDAW: No
• Has Kenya ratified CEDAW: Yes (9 May 1984)
• Gender Quota: Yes, as of Kenya’s 2010 constitution, at least two-thirds of the members of an elective body shall be of the same gender.
• Female candidates in this election: 0
• Number of Female Parliamentarians: 87
• Human Development Index Position: 146
• Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: Medium

Disability Data:

• Is Kenya a signatory to CRPD: Yes (30 March 2007)
• Has Kenya ratified CRPD: Yes (19 May 2008)
• Population with a disability: 6,767,279 (est)