The Electoral Commissioners’ Code of Conduct and Ethics

Legal Notice 129 of 2003

This is the latest version of this Legal Notice.
Citation
Legal Notice 129 of 2003
Primary work
Public Officer Ethics Act
Date
31 December 2022
Language
English
Type
Legal Notice
Publication
Download PDF (9.2 MB)
Related documents
LAWS OF KENYA

PUBLIC OFFICER ETHICS ACT

THE ELECTORAL COMMISSIONERS’ CODE OF CONDUCT AND ETHICS

LEGAL NOTICE 129 OF 2003

  • Published in Kenya Gazette Vol. CV—No. 80 on 8 August 2003
  • Commenced on 8 August 2003
  1. [Revised by 24th Annual Supplement (Legal Notice 221 of 2023) on 31 December 2022]
The Electoral Commission is an important institution in any country. Its independence must be guaranteed and upheld at all times. Failure to do so would be the end of democracy and a recipe for anarchy and chaos. The Electoral Commission must not only be independent but must also be seen to be independent. It cannot be seen to be independent and to be fulfilling its onerous mandate if its commissioners do not uphold high standards of performance; hence the need for it to have this Code of Conduct and Ethics for its members in accordance with section 5(1) of the Act. The code is a supplement to the provisions of the Constitution of Kenya and the National Assembly and Presidential Elections Act (Cap. 7) and the rules and regulations made pursuant to that Act.

Part I – PRELIMINARY

1. Citation

This Code may be cited as the Electoral Commissioners’ Code of Conduct and Ethics.

2. Interpretation

In this Code, unless the context otherwise requires—"Commissioner” means a person holding office as a member of the Electoral Commission under section 41 of the Constitution of Kenya, and includes the Chairman;"Chairman” means the Chairman of the Electoral Commission of Kenya;“family”, in relation to a Commissioner, includes the Commissioner’s spouse, child, grandchild, parent, grandparent or other relative or person with whom the Commissioner maintains a close family relationship;"the Act” means the Public Officers Ethics Act (Cap. 185B).

3. Application of Code

This Code applies with respect to the Commissioners.

4. Action for breach of Code

Where a Commissioner has committed a breach of this Code, appropriate action will be taken in accordance with the provisions of the Act, the National Assembly, and Presidential Elections Act (Cap. 7) and the Constitution of Kenya.

Part II – REQUIREMENTS

5. Compliance with General Code

(1)A Commissioner shall comply with all the requirements of the General Code of Conduct and Ethics set out in Part III of the Act.
(2)The General Code of Conduct and Ethics set out in Part III of the Act is set out in the Appendix to this Code and shall form part of this Code.

6. Independence, impartiality and integrity

Every member of the Commission shall serve impartially and independently and perform the functions of a member in good faith and without fear, favour or prejudice, and without influence from—
(a)the Government;
(b)any public officer;
(c)any political party;
(d)any candidate participating in an election; or
(e)any other person or authority.

7. Professionalism

(1)A Commissioner shall participate in establishing, maintaining and enforcing high standards of professionalism in the performance of his duties.
(2)A Commissioner shall actively and personally promote a culture in his work that aims at providing fast, friendly, responsive and efficient service and shall be courteous to all persons in the provision of such service.
(3)A Commissioner shall perform his duty with diligence, efficiency and fidelity.

8. Family and other influences

(1)A Commissioner shall not allow family, social, political or other relationships to influence his conduct or decision.
(2)A Commissioner shall not use or lend the prestige of his office and shall not knowingly convey or permit others to convey the impression that anyone is in a special position to influence him.

9. Precedence of official duties

(1)The official duties of a Commissioner take precedence over all his other activities.
(2)In particular, a Commissioner shall observe faithfully the electoral law, rules and regulations.

10. Conflict of interest

A Commissioner shall disqualify himself in all matters where his impartiality might reasonably be questioned including, without limitation, instances in which relatives, colleagues and former colleagues have an interest.

11. Code violations

(1)It shall be the responsibility of every Commissioner to report to the Chairman any violation of this Code:Provided that a complaint against the Chairman may be made to the responsible Commission (or shall, if made to the Chairman, be referred to that Commission).
(2)The Chairman shall investigate any matter reported to him and shall, at a meeting of the Commission, report the action he takes (including any reference of the matter to the responsible Commission).

12. Social and recreational activities

A Commissioner may engage in recreational activities as long as they do not adversely affect the dignity and integrity of the Commission.

13. Private interests

A Commissioner shall observe the following requirements in relation to his private interests—
(a)he shall not take any salaried employment during his service as a Commissioner or conduct private business that is likely to conflict with his official duties;
(b)he shall not subordinate his official duties to private interest;
(c)he shall not be associated outside his official duties with any financial or other activities in circumstances where there would be suspicion that his official position or official information available to him was being turned to his private gain or that of his associates;
(d)he shall not engage in any occupation or business which might prejudice his status as a Commissioner, or bring the Commission into disrepute or dishonour.

14. Proper conduct

(1)For the purposes of section 25 of Appendix I, the appropriate authority to whom a Commissioner shall report the relevant matter is the Chairman.
(2)A Commissioner shall at all times conduct himself decently.

15. Conduct of private affairs

(1)A Commissioner shall conduct his private affairs in a way that maintains and enhances public confidence, integrity and dignity of his work.
(2)A Commissioner shall endeavour to manage his finances to avoid financial embarrassment to himself and the Commission.

16. Prohibition on contesting political office

A Commissioner who wishes to contest a seat in the National Assembly or local authority or any other political office shall be required to resign from his office as a Commissioner prior to doing so.

17. Travel outside Kenya

A Commissioner who at any time wishes to travel outside the country shall obtain prior permission of the Chairman in writing.

APPENDIX [para. 5(2)]

GENERAL CODE OF CONDUCT AND ETHICS

(Extract from Part III of the Act)

7. Part sets out general Code

This Part sets out a general Code of Conduct and Ethics for public officers.

8. Performance of duties, general

A public officer shall, to the best of his ability, carry out his duties and ensure that the services that he provides are provided efficiently and honestly.

9. Professionalism

A public officer shall—
(a)carry out his duties in a way that maintains public confidence in the integrity of his office;
(b)treat the public and his fellow public officers with courtesy and respect;
(c)to the extent appropriate to his office, seek to improve the standards of performance and level of professionalism in his organisation;
(d)if a member of a professional body, observe the ethical and professional requirements of that body;
(e)observe official working hours and not be absent without proper authorisation or reasonable cause;
(f)maintain an appropriate standard of dress and personal hygiene; and
(g)discharge any professional responsibilities in a professional manner.

10. Rule of law

(1)A public officer shall carry out his duties in accordance with the law.
(2)In carrying out his duties, a public officer shall not violate the rights and freedoms of any person under Part V of the Constitution.

11. No improper enrichment

(1)A public officer shall not use his office to improperly enrich himself or others.
(2)Without limiting the generality of subsection (1), a public officer shall not—
(a)except as allowed under subsection (3) or (4), accept or request gifts or favours from a person who—
(i)has an interest that may be affected by the carrying out, or not carrying out, of the public officer’s duties;
(ii)carries on regulated activities with respect to which the public officer’s organisation has a role; or
(iii)has a contractual or similar relationship with the public officer’s organisation;
(b)improperly use his office to acquire land or other property for himself or another person, whether or not the land or property is paid for; or
(c)for the personal benefit of himself or another, use or allow the use of information that is acquired in connection with the public officer’s duties and that is not public.
(3)A public officer may accept a gift given to him in his official capacity but, unless the gift is a non-monetary gift that does not exceed the value prescribed by regulation, such a gift shall be deemed to be a gift to the public officer's organisation.
(4)Subsection (2)(a) does not prevent a, public officer from accepting a gift from a relative or friend given on a special occasion recognized by custom.
(5)Subsection (2)(c) does not apply to the use of information for educational or literary purposes, research purposes or other similar purposes.

12. Conflict of interest

(1)A public officer shall use his best efforts to avoid being in a position in which his personal interests conflict with his official duties.
(2)Without limiting the generality of subsection (1), a public officer shall not hold shares or have any other interest in a corporation, partnership of other body, directly or through another person, if holding those shares or having that interest would result in the public officer's personal interests conflicting with his official duties.
(3)A public officer whose personal interests conflict with his official duties shall—
(a)declare the personal interests to his superior or other appropriate body and comply with any directions to avoid the conflict; and
(b)refrain from participating in any deliberations with respect to the matter.
(4)Notwithstanding any directions to the contrary under subsection (3)(a), a public officer shall not award a contract, or influence the award of a contract, to—
(a)himself;
(b)a spouse or relative;
(c)a business associate; or
(d)a corporation, partnership or other body in which the officer has an interest.
(5)The regulations may govern when the personal interests of a public officer conflict with his official duties for the purposes of this section.
(6)In this section, “personal interest” includes the interest of a spouse, relative or business associate.

13. Collections and harambees

(1)A public officer shall not—
(a)use his office or place of work as a venue for soliciting or collecting harambees; or
(b)either as a collector or promoter of a public collection, obtain money or other property from a person by using his official position in any way to exert pressure.
(2)In this section, “collection”, “collector” and “promoter” have the same meanings as in section 2 of the Public Collections Act (Cap. 106).

14. Acting for foreigners

(1)No public officer shall, in a manner that may be detrimental to the security interests of Kenya, be an agent for, or further the interests of, a foreign government, organisation or individual.
(2)For the purposes of this section—
(a)an individual is foreign if the individual is not a citizen of Kenya;
(b)an organisation is foreign if it is established outside Kenya or if it is owned or controlled by foreign governments, organisations or individuals.

15. Care of property

(1)A public officer shall take all reasonable steps to ensure that property that is entrusted to his care is adequately protected and not misused or misappropriated.
(2)A person who contravenes subsection (1) shall be personally liable for losses resulting from the contravention.

16. Political neutrality

(1)A public officer shall not, in or in connection with the performance of his duties as such—
(a)act as an agent for, or so as to further the interest of, a political party; or
(b)indicate support for or opposition to any political party or candidate in an election.
(2)A public officer shall not engage in political activity that may compromise or be seen to compromise the political neutrality of his office.
(3)This section does not apply to a member of the National Assembly or a councillor of a local authority.

17. Nepotism, etc.

A public officer shall not practice nepotism or favouritism.

18. Giving of advice

A public officer who has a duty to give advice shall give honest and impartial advice without fear or favour.

19. Misleading the public, etc.

A public officer shall not knowingly give false or misleading information to members of the public or to any other public officer.

20. Conduct of private affairs

(1)A public officer shall conduct his private affairs in a way that maintains public confidence in the integrity of his office.
(2)A public officer shall not evade taxes.
(3)A public officer shall not neglect his financial obligations or neglect to settle them.

21. Sexual harassment

(1)A public officer shall not sexually harass a member of the public or a fellow public officer.
(2)In subsection (1), “sexually harass” includes doing any of the following, if the person doing it knows or ought to know that it is unwelcome—
(a)making a request or exerting pressure for sexual activity or favours;
(b)making intentional or careless physical contact that is sexual in nature; and
(c)making gestures, noises, jokes or comments, including innuendoes, regarding another person’s sexuality.

22. Selection, etc., of public officers

A public officer shall practice and promote the principle that public officers should be—
(a)selected on the basis of integrity, competence and suitability; or
(b)elected in fair elections.

23. Submitting of declarations, etc.

A public officer shall submit any declaration or clarification required under Part IV to be submitted or made by him.

24. Acting through others

(1)A public officer contravenes the Code of Conduct and Ethics if—
(a)he causes anything to be done through another person that would, if the public officer did it, be a contravention of the Code of Conduct and Ethics; or
(b)he allows or directs a person under his supervision or control to do anything that is a contravention of the Code of Conduct and Ethics.
(2)Subsection (1)(b) does not apply with respect to anything done without the public officer's knowledge or consent if the public officer took reasonable steps to prevent it.

25. Reporting improper orders

If a public officer considers that anything required of him is a contravention of the Code of Conduct and Ethics or is otherwise improper or unethical, he shall report the matter to an appropriate authority.
▲ To the top

History of this document

31 December 2022 this version
08 August 2003
Commenced