Kenyan general election, 2017

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General elections are scheduled to be held in Kenya on 8 August 2017.[1] Voters will elect the President and his deputy, members of Parliament (Senate and National Assembly) and devolved government members (county governors and ward representatives).

Background

The Kenyan Constitution requires there to be a general election on the second Tuesday in August in every fifth year.[2] There have been public discussions to move the date from August to December with proponents pointing to fiscal timeline (1 July–30 June) clashing with an August date because most ministries that support critical election processes will not have been fully funded and that a possible presidential runoff vote may interfere with the national examinations calendar of October and December.[3] Opponents of the election date change have argued for protecting the constitutional provision and that any change would be mired by legal challenges and may drag on to the next elections and still require a referendum to decide, putting the country's stability at risk.[3]

Electoral system

The President of Kenya is elected using a modified version of the two-round system; in order to win in the first round, a candidate is required to receive over 50% of the vote and 25% of the vote in at least 24 counties.[4][5]

The 337 members of the National Assembly are elected by two methods; 290 are elected in single-member constituencies by first-past-the-post voting. The remaining 47 are reserved for women, and are elected from single-member constituencies based on the 47 counties, also using the first-past-the-post system.[6] The 67 members of the Senate are elected by four methods; 47 are elected in single-member constituencies based on the counties by first-past-the-post voting. Parties are then assigned a share of 16 seats for women, two for youth and two for disabled people based on their vote share.

References

  1. IEBC announces 2017 election date Daily Nation, 10 December 2015
  2. 101. Election of members of Parliament Constitution of Kenya, Chapter Eight, Article 101]
  3. 1 2 Majority MPs back election date change from August to December Daily Nation, 6 August 2015
  4. Presidential Candidates Kenya Diaspora Vote
  5. Article 138 (4) Constitution of Kenya 2010
  6. Electoral system Inter-Parliamentary Union
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