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| Registered | 19,611,423 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Turnout | 39.03% ( 40.48pp) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Kenyaportal |
Presidential elections were held in Kenya on 26 October 2017 following the Supreme Court's annulment of the results of the presidential vote in the August 2017 general elections. [1] [2] The election was won by incumbent president Uhuru Kenyatta of the Jubilee Party, who won 98.3% of the popular vote to defeat Raila Odinga of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM).
General elections were held in Kenya on 8 August 2017. Incumbent president Uhuru Kenyatta was declared the winner of the presidential contest with 54.17% of the vote, whilst his main rival Raila Odinga finished second with 44.94% of the vote. The opposition claimed that it had won and that the government had rigged the elections. The opposition appealed to the Supreme Court. Citing a breach of the technical processes required by the constitution and the law, the court returned a verdict (by a margin of 4–2) that the election had not been "conducted in accordance with the constitution", cancelling the results and ordering fresh elections to be held within 60 days. [1] In a television address Kenyatta complained that the decision was tantamount to overturning the "will of the people". He nevertheless stated that though he disagreed with the Supreme Court's decision, he would obey that decision. Raila Odinga on the other hand welcomed the court's verdict, saying "This indeed is a very historic day for the people of Kenya and by extension the people of the continent of Africa." [3]
The President of Kenya is elected using a modified version of the two-round system: to win in the first round, a candidate must receive over 50% of the vote nationally and 25% of the vote in at least 24 of Kenya's 47 counties. [4] [5]
 | This article possibly contains original research .(December 2020) |
In early October, Odinga announced that he was withdrawing [6] [7] [8] [9] from the election. [10] Following his withdrawal from the presidential race, there was heated debate among lawyers as to the legality of IEBC continuing with the elections. Proponents of the elections argued that the court ruled a repeat election to be conducted within 60 days and this must happen no matter what the main opposition decides to do. Additionally, they argued that it was not possible to reform the IEBC as he was demanding due to constitutional limitations. Moreover, pulling out of the race required him to fill out a form 22a, which he refused to do, saying that it was an unnecessary formality. This means that he intentionally wanted to remain ambiguous and hence had not officially withdrawn. As such, his name would be in the ballot papers.
On the opposite end, opponents of the elections argued that the cancellation of one nominee means that there can no longer be an election as provided for in the Kenyan constitution following the 2013 Supreme Court ruling that such an event necessitated the cancellation of an election. Additionally, they argue that as this is not a fresh election but a repeat election, there is no need for any candidate to withdraw to do so by filling any form. This means that Raila's withdrawal through a letter was enough to prove that he is out of the race. Earlier, the Third Way Alliance presidential candidate Ekuru Aukot had appealed against the IEBC decision to exclude him from the vote citing a breach of the law. As it turned out, the court of appeal ruled that the IEBC decision to exclude the candidate had no basis in law since the October 26 election was a fresh election. The court also ruled that all presidential candidates in the October 26 election were free to contest as presidential candidates on October 26, 2017.
On 18 October, recently resigned IEBC Commissioner Roselyn Akombe issued a statement declaring that the second presidential election wouldn't be a fair election. [11] Akombe also fled to the United States of America out of fear for her life. [12]
On 18 October, IEBC Chairman Wafula Chebukati expressed skepticism about a fair election as well, claiming the IEBC commissioners were partisan-minded and that he would resign unless certain conditions are met to reform the IEBC. [13] [14]
On 20 October, the IEBC's chief executive officer Ezra Chiloba announced that he will not be monitoring the election and that starting 23 October, he will take a three-week vacation. [15] Chiloba's departure has created more uncertainty over who will monitor the election. [16]
On 24 October, the IEBC announced that it would now count back-up paper ballots and not rush to announce the official results based only on numbers sent from the polling stations like in the first presidential election as well. [17] The same day, Chebukati appointed IEBC Vice Chair Consolata N.B. Maina as the IEBC Deputy National Returning Officer. [18]
On 30 October the IEBC declared Kenyatta the winner of the elections. [19]
| Candidate | Running mate | Party | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Uhuru Kenyatta | William Ruto | Jubilee Party | 7,483,895 | 98.26 | |
| Raila Odinga | Kalonzo Musyoka | National Super Alliance | 73,228 | 0.96 | |
| Ekuru Aukot | Emmanuel Nzai | Thirdway Alliance Kenya | 21,333 | 0.28 | |
| Abduba Dida | Titus Ngetuny | Alliance for Real Change | 14,107 | 0.19 | |
| Japheth Kaluyu | Muthiora Kariara | Independent | 8,261 | 0.11 | |
| Michael Wainaina | Miriam Mutua | Independent | 6,007 | 0.08 | |
| Joseph Nyagah | Moses Marango | Independent | 5,554 | 0.07 | |
| Cyrus Jirongo | Joseph Momanyi | United Democratic Party | 3,832 | 0.05 | |
| Total | 7,616,217 | 100.00 | |||
| Valid votes | 7,616,217 | 99.51 | |||
| Invalid/blank votes | 37,713 | 0.49 | |||
| Total votes | 7,653,930 | 100.00 | |||
| Registered voters/turnout | 19,611,423 | 39.03 | |||
| Source: IEBC | |||||
Two petitions were filed at Kenyan Supreme Court challenging the results of the 26 October 2017 election. The six judge bench unanimously decided that the petitions had no merit and upheld Uhuru Kenyatta's win for a second term. [20]
As per the constitutional timelines Kenyatta's second inauguration was conducted on 28 November 2017. [21]
The politics of Kenya take place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the president is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system in accordance with a new constitution passed in 2010.
Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta is the fourth president of Kenya from 2013 to 2022. Kenyatta is the son of Jomo Kenyatta, Kenya's first president, and his fourth wife Mama Ngina Kenyatta. He has been married to Margaret Gakuo Kenyatta since 1991. They have three children: the two sons, Jomo and Muhoho, and a daughter, Ngina Kenyatta.
Stephen Kalonzo Musyoka is a Kenyan politician who was the tenth Vice-President of Kenya from 2008 to 2013. Musyoka served in the government under the late President Daniel arap Moi as the Secretary of Kenya African National Union party (1980-1988), Assistant Minister for Works (1986-1988), Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly (1988-1992), Minister for Foreign Affairs from 1993 until 1998, Minister of Education (1998-2001); and subsequently, under the late President Mwai Kibaki, he was Minister of Foreign Affairs again from 2003 to 2004, then Minister of the Environment from 2004 to 2005. He was an unsuccessful candidate in the 2007 presidential election, after which he was appointed vice-president by Kibaki in January 2008.
Forum for the Restoration of Democracy–Kenya (FORD–Kenya) is a Kenyan political party. The party has sat in the government of Kenya once, under the National Rainbow Coalition, from 2003 to 2007, having ended forty years of one party rule. In April 2022, the party joined the Kenya Kwanza coalition for the August 2022 elections, and is headed by Moses Wetangula, the current speaker of the National Assembly of Kenya. The party tends to be more popular among the Luhya people.
William Kipchirchir Samoei Arap Ruto is a Kenyan politician who is the fifth and current president of Kenya since 13 September 2022. Prior to becoming president, he served as the first elected deputy president of Kenya from 2013 to 2022. Previously, holders of the position were referred to as Vice President and the officeholder was unelected and appointed by the President. He previously served in three cabinet portfolios as the Minister for Home Affairs, the Minister of Agriculture and as Minister for Higher Education.
Raila Amolo Odinga is a Kenyan politician who served as the Prime Minister of Kenya from 2008 to 2013. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Langata Constituency from 1992 to 2013 and has been the Leader of Opposition in Kenya since 2013. He is the leader of Azimio la Umoja–One Kenya Coalition Party.
The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) is a centre-left political party in Kenya. It is the successor of a grassroots people's movement that was formed during the 2005 Kenyan constitutional referendum campaign. This movement separated in August 2007 into the Orange Democratic Movement Party of Kenya and the Wiper Democratic Movement – Kenya.
General elections were held in Kenya on 4 March 2013. Voters elected the President, members of the National Assembly and newly formed Senate. They were the first elections held under the new constitution, which was approved in a 2010 referendum, and were also the first run by the new Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC). They coincided with the 2013 Kenyan local elections.
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) is an independent regulatory agency that was founded in the year 2011 through the making of the Constitution of Kenya. The Commission is responsible for conducting or supervising referendums and elections to any elective body or office established by the Constitution, and any other elections as prescribed by an Act of Parliament. It was created in a provision of the 2010 constitution and the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission Act. Its mandate includes "the continuous registration of voters and revision of the voter's roll, the delimitation of constituencies and wards, the regulation of political parties process, the settlement of electoral disputes, the registration of candidates for elections, voter education, the facilitation of the observation, monitoring and evaluation of elections, the regulation of money spent by a candidate or party in respect of any election, the development of a code of conduct for candidates and parties, [and] the monitoring of compliance with legislation on nomination of candidates by parties."
The Supreme Court of Kenya is the highest court in Kenya. It is established under Article 163 of the Kenyan Constitution. As the highest court in the nation, its decisions are binding and set precedent on all other courts in the country.
The inauguration of Uhuru Kenyatta as the 4th president of Kenya took place on 9 April 2013. Kenyatta won 50.07% of the vote in the 2013 presidential election, after the supreme court dismissed the Raila petition on 30 March 2013. According to Article 141 (2) (b) of the constitution, in case the Supreme Court upholds the victory of the president-elect, the swearing in will take place on "the first Tuesday following the seventh day following the date on which the court renders a decision declaring the election to be valid." The event was held at Kasarani Stadium.A reception bouquet took place at State House,Nairobi.
The Kenya Presidential Election Petition of 2013 was an election petition aiming to declare the Kenya presidential election 2013 invalid. The Petition was filed at the Supreme Court of Kenya on 16 March 2013.
General elections were held in Kenya on 8 August 2017 to elect the President, members of the National Assembly and Senate. They coincided with the 2017 Kenyan local elections which elected Governors and representatives in the devolved governments.
Roselyn Kwamboka Akombe is a Kenyan former commissioner of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) of Kenya.
The 2018 Kenya handshake was a political truce made on 9 March 2018 between Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and former Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga. The two had been the leaders of opposing political factions amidst widespread political violence and civil unrest; they had previously faced one another in the contested 2017 Kenyan general election. Under the agreement, their political feud with an agreement that Kenyatta would support Odinga in the upcoming presidential elections. Consequently, the Azimio coalition was formed, Uhuru became its chairman, and Odinga became the presidential candidate with Martha Karua as his running mate. They lost to William Ruto, who was then Kenyatta's deputy. They challenged Ruto's victory in the Supreme Court, but Chief Justice Martha Koome said his claims did not meet the evidentiary threshold and dismissed the case. At a March 2023 protest in Nairobi they demanded an audit of the IEBC election servers.
General elections were held in Kenya on Tuesday, 9 August 2022. Voters elected the president, governors, senators, members of the National Assembly, and members of county assemblies.
The Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) was a proposed set of amendments to the Constitution of Kenya initially proposed in October 2019. In the wake of the 2017 general election annulment and subsequent re-run, incumbent President Uhuru Kenyatta mandated the formation of the Presidential Taskforce on Building Bridges to Unity Advisory on 31 May 2018. The Taskforce was assigned to provide constitutional and legislative solutions in 9 broad categories:
David Ndii & Others V. Attorney General & Others also known as the BBI Judgement was a landmark ruling made in the Kenya High Court on 13 May 2021, declaring an injunction on Kenya's Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) from proceeding with President Uhuru Kenyatta's and retired Prime Minister Raila Odinga's Building Bridges Initiative. The five-judge bench was to determine seventeen questions raised on the petition against the BBI Process.
Wafula Wanyonyi Chebukati is a Kenyan lawyer and a former chairman of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), which is responsible for overseeing elections in Kenya. Wafula Chebukati was appointed to the position on a six-year tenure in January 2017 by the retired President of Kenya Uhuru Kenyatta. Following his appointment in 2017, He succeeded Ahmed Issack Hassan. He retired on 17th January 2023 following the end of his term.
Raila Odinga & another v Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission & others [2017] KESC 31 (KLR) was a landmark decision by the Supreme Court of Kenya that nullified the presidential results of the 2017 General Elections in Kenya. The petition was brought forward by Raila Odinga and Kalonzo Musyoka, the National Super Alliance (NASA) candidates, challenging the legitimacy of Kenya's August 8, 2017, presidential election. They claimed that the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) and its chairperson, Wafula Chebukati, as well as Uhuru Kenyatta, the incumbent president and Jubilee Party candidate, committed irregularities during the election. They sought to overturn the election results and demanded a new election be conducted.
| Presidential elections | |
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| Parliamentary elections | |
| Local elections | |
| Referendums | |
