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LAWS OF KENYA
ELECTIONS ACT
CAP. 7
- Published in Kenya Gazette Vol. CXIII—No. 90 on 9 September 2011
- Assented to on 27 August 2011
- Commenced on 2 December 2011 by Elections Act Commencement
- [Amended by Laws of Kenya (Rectification) Order, 2011 (Legal Notice 142 of 2011) on 12 October 2011]
- [Amended by Acts Published for the Implementation of the Constitution Corrigenda (Corrigendum 18 of 2012) on 23 March 2012]
- [Amended by Revision of the Laws (Rectification) Order, 2012 (Legal Notice 19 of 2012) on 23 March 2012]
- [Amended by Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act, 2012 (Act No. 12 of 2012) on 12 July 2012]
- [Amended by Revision of the Laws (Rectification) (No. 3) Order, 2012 (Legal Notice 76 of 2012) on 20 July 2012]
- [Amended by Elections (Amendment) Act, 2012 (Act No. 31 of 2012) on 4 September 2012]
- [Amended by Elections (Amendment) (No. 2) Act, 2012 (Act No. 32 of 2012) on 3 October 2012]
- [Amended by Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) (No. 2) Act, 2012 (Act No. 47 of 2012) on 4 January 2013]
- [Amended by Elections (Amendment) (No. 3) Act, 2012 (Act No. 48 of 2012) on 4 January 2013]
- [Amended by Election Laws (Amendment) Act (Act No. 36 of 2016) on 4 October 2016]
- [Amended by Election Offences Act (Cap. 66) on 4 October 2016]
- [Amended by Election Laws (Amendment) Act, 2017 (Act No. 1 of 2017) on 30 January 2017]
- [Amended by Election Laws (Amendment) Act, 2017 (Act No. 34 of 2017) on 2 November 2017]
- [Amended by Assumption of the Office of Governor Act (Cap. 265A) on 31 May 2019]
- [Amended by Political Parties (Amendment) Act, 2022 (Act No. 2 of 2022) on 11 February 2022]
- [Revised by 24th Annual Supplement (Legal Notice 221 of 2023) on 31 December 2022]
Part I – PRELIMINARY
1. Short title.
This Act may be cited as the Elections Act.2. Interpretation.
In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—"adult" has the meaning assigned to it in Article 260 of the Constitution;"agent" means a person duly appointed by—Part II – REGISTRATION OF VOTERS AND DETERMINATION OF QUESTIONS CONCERNING REGISTRATION
3. Right to vote.
4. Register of Voters
5. Registration of voters.
6. Inspection of register of voters.
6A. Verification of biometric data.
7. Transfer of registration.
8. Updating of the Register of Voters
8A. Audit of the register of voters
9. Postponement of disqualification to enable appeal.
Where a person has been adjudged or declared to be of unsound mind, adjudged bankrupt or convicted of an election offence and is thereby disqualified from being registered as a voter, then, if that person is entitled to appeal against the decision, that person shall not be disqualified from being so registered until the expiration of thirty days after the date of the decision or such further period as the Commission may, at the request of the person, direct in order to enable the person to appeal against the decision.10. Eligibility to vote.
Determination of questions concerning registration
11. Determination of questions as to registration.
Any question whether a person is qualified to be registered as a voter shall be determined in accordance with this Part.12. Claims.
Part III – ELECTIONS
13. Nomination of candidates by a political party.
Presidential elections
14. Initiation of Presidential election.
15. Change of deputy president nominee candidate.
Parliamentary elections
16. Initiation of election of member of Parliament.
County governor elections
17. Initiation of county governor election.
18. Change of deputy county governor nominee candidate.
A county governor candidate or a political party shall not at any time change the person nominated as a deputy county governor candidate after the nomination of that person has been received by the Commission;Provided that in the event of death, resignation or incapacity of the nominated candidate or of the violation of the electoral code of conduct by the nominated candidate, the political party may substitute its candidate before the date of presentation of nomination papers to the Commission.County assembly elections
19. Initiation of County assembly elections.
20. Notification in electronic media.
The Commission may in addition publicise the notices under sections 14, 16, 17 and 19 in the electronic and print media of national circulation.21. Election of county assembly speaker.
Nominations and elections generally
22. Qualifications for nomination of candidates.
23. Qualifications and disqualifications for nomination as President.
24. Qualifications and disqualifications for nomination as member of Parliament.
25. Qualifications for nomination as member of county assembly.
26. Additional disqualification.
27. Submission of party nomination rules.
28. Submission of party membership lists.
28A. Certification of party membership lists.
29. [Deleted by Act No. 34 of 2017, s. 5.]
30. Appointment of agents.
31. Nomination of political party candidates.
32. Approval of symbol for independent candidate.
33. Nomination of independent candidates.
Nomination of party lists members
34. Nomination of party lists members.
35. Submission of party lists.
A political party shall submit its party list to the Commission at least forty-five days before the date of the general election.[Act No. 36 of 2016, s. 12.]35A. Certification of party lists.
36. Allocation of special seats.
37. Re-allocation of special seat.
38. Holding of elections.
After a notice of an election has been published in the Gazette under sections 14, 16, 17 and 19, every returning officer shall proceed to hold the election according to the terms of the notice and in accordance with the regulations relating to elections.[Act No. 47 of 2012, Sch.]38A. Number of voters per polling station.
For the purposes of providing efficient and effective conduct of elections, the number of voters per polling station shall not exceed seven hundred.[Act No. 36 of 2016, s. 13, Act No. 1 of 2017, s. 16.]39. Determination and declaration of results.
40. Voter education.
41. Access to and obligation of media
42. Accreditation of observers, agents, reporters, etc.
The Commission may at any election accredit—43. Participation in elections by public officers.
44. Use of technology.
44A. Complementary mechanism for identification of voters.
Notwithstanding the provisions of section 44, the Commission shall put in place a complementary mechanism for identification of voters that is simple, accurate, verifiable, secure, accountable and transparent to ensure that the Commission complies with the provisions of Article 38 of the Constitution.[Act No. 1 of 2017, s. 19, Act No. 34 of 2017, s. 8.]Part IV – RECALL OF MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT
45. Right of recall.
46. Petition for recall.
47. Recall elections.
48. Validity of recall election.
A recall election shall be valid if the number of voters who concur in the recall election is at least fifty percent of the total number of registered voters in the affected county or constituency.Part V – REFERENDUM
49. Initiation of a referendum.
50. Notice of holding referendum.
51. Referendum Committees.
52. Costs of referendum committee.
53. Procedure for conduct of referendum.
The procedure for the conduct of an election shall apply with necessary modifications to the conduct of referendum.54. Voting threshold.
A referendum question on an issue other than that contemplated in Articles 255, 256 and 257 of the Constitution shall be decided by a simple majority of the citizens voting in the referendum.[Act No. 1 of 2017, s. 22.]55. General power of the Commission.
Nothing in this Act shall preclude the Commission from taking any administrative measures to ensure effective conduct of the referendum.55A. Maintenance of secrecy at elections.
55B. Postponement of elections by the Commission.
Part VI – ELECTION OFFENCES
Repealed by Act No. 37 of 2016, s. 25.
Part VII – ELECTION DISPUTES RESOLUTION
Dispute resolution by the Commission
74. Settlement of certain disputes.
Election Petitions
75. County election petitions.
76. Presentation of petitions.
77. Service of petition.
78. Security for costs.
79. Procedure of election court on receipt of petition.
Upon receipt of a petition, an election court shall peruse the petition and—80. Powers of election court.
81. Prohibition of disclosure of vote.
A voter who has voted at an election shall not, in the proceedings of an election petition, be required to state whom they voted for.82. Scrutiny of votes.
83. Nullification of an election.
84. Costs.
An election court shall award the costs of and incidental to a petition and such costs shall follow the cause.85. Determination of election petition.
An election petition under this Act shall be heard and determined within the period specified in the Constitution.85A. Appeals to the Court of Appeal
86. Certificate of court as to validity of election.
86A. Procedure at fresh presidential election.
87. Report of Court on electoral malpractices.
Referendum Petitions
88. Election petition procedures to apply to referendum petition.
Unless specifically provided for in this Act, the procedure applicable to an election petition shall apply to a referendum petition.89. Referendum petition.
90. Composition of Court.
A referendum petition shall be heard and determined by a bench of three judges appointed by the Chief Justice.91. Operation of declared result of issue submitted to referendum.
92. Persons who may present referendum petition.
93. Respondents to referendum petition.
94. Filing of referendum petition.
95. Duty of Registrar to make list of referendum petitions.
96. Practice procedure and security for costs.
97. Death of or delay by petitioner.
Where there are two or more petitioners and any of the petitioners dies at any time before the final order of the court hearing the petition, the surviving petitioner or petitioners shall be entitled to continue with the petition.98. Hearing of referendum petition.
99. Powers of a court to summon witnesses in a referendum petition.
100. Prohibition of disclosure of vote.
A voter who has voted at a referendum shall not, in proceedings to question the referendum be required to state how he voted.101. Examination of votes.
102. Powers of Court.
103. Petition expenses.
104. Facilitation of persons with special needs including persons with disabilities.
The Commission shall, for the purpose of ensuring that persons with special needs including persons with disabilities realise their right to vote—Part VIII – GENERAL PROVISIONS
105. Duty to co-operate.
106. [Deleted by Act No. 36 of 2016, s. 23.]
107. Powers of arrest and prosecution.
108. Airtime by state radio and television for election campaign.
All candidates and political parties participating in an election shall be allocated reasonable airtime on all broadcasting media during the campaign period.[Act No. 12 of 2012, Sch.]109. Regulations.
110. Electoral code of conduct.
111. [Spent].
112. Transitional provisions.
History of this document
31 December 2022 this version
Revised by
24th Annual Supplement
11 February 2022
31 May 2019
02 November 2017
30 January 2017
04 October 2016
04 January 2013
03 October 2012
04 September 2012
Amended by
Elections (Amendment) Act, 2012
Read this version
20 July 2012
12 July 2012
23 March 2012
02 December 2011
Commenced by
Elections Act Commencement
12 October 2011
09 September 2011
27 August 2011
Assented to
Cited documents 3
Act 3
1. | Civil Procedure Act | 19408 citations |
2. | Election Offences Act | 89 citations |
3. | Election Laws (Amendment) Act | 23 citations |
Documents citing this one 1102
Judgment 696
Gazette 357
Bench Bulletin 22
Bill 16
Legal Notice 6
Act 5
1. | County Governments Act | 1554 citations |
2. | Election Offences Act | 89 citations |
3. | Assumption of the Office of Governor Act | 28 citations |
4. | Assumption of the Office of President Act | 13 citations |
5. | Election Campaign Financing Act | 13 citations |
Subsidiary legislation
Title
|
Date
|
|
---|---|---|
The Elections (Parliamentary and County Elections) Petitions Rules | Legal Notice 116 of 2017 | 31 December 2022 |
The Elections (Voter Education) Regulations | Legal Notice 70 of 2017 | 31 December 2022 |
The Elections (Party Primaries and Party Lists) Regulations | Legal Notice 69 of 2017 | 31 December 2022 |
The Elections (Technology) Regulations | Legal Notice 68 of 2017 | 31 December 2022 |
The Rules of Procedure on Settlement of Disputes | Legal Notice 139 of 2012 | 31 December 2022 |
The Elections (General) Regulations | Legal Notice 128 of 2012 | 31 December 2022 |
The Elections (Registration of Voters) Regulations | Legal Notice 126 of 2012 | 31 December 2022 |
The Elections (Parliamentary and County Elections) Petition Rules, 2013
Repealed
|
Legal Notice 54 of 2013 | 22 March 2013 |
The Elections (Parliamentary and County Elections) Petition Rules, 2013
Repealed
|
Legal Notice 44 of 2013 | 22 February 2013 |
The Elections (Voter Education) Regulations, 2012
Repealed
|
Legal Notice 127 of 2012 | 9 November 2012 |