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Kenya
Women in decision-making positions
34%
Members of local deliberative bodies are women (746 elected women)
No woman is Head of State/Government
23%
Parliamentarians are women
32%
Ministers are women

Government organization

Kenya is a unitary republic with two spheres of government: central and local.

One tier of central government and one tier of local government composed of counties and the county-city of Nairobi.
Central government
  • Head of State: The President is directly elected by voters.
  • Head of Government: The President is the Head of State and the Head of Government.
  • Legislative body: Parliament is a bicameral legislature, with an upper house (the Senate), and a lower house (the National Assembly). In the Senate, 20 members are nominated, and 47 members are directly elected by voters. In the National Assembly, 12 members are nominated, and 337 members are directly elected by voters.
  • Executive body: The Cabinet consists of the President, the Deputy President, the Attorney-General, and cabinet secretaries nominated and appointed by the President with the approval of the National Assembly.
Local government
  • Organization: Local government is organized into one tier of 46 county-level local government units and the County-City of Nairobi. The County-City of Nairobi is governed in the same manner as a county-level local government unit.
  • Competencies: Local government possesses legislative authority. It is responsible for sourcing revenue, imposing taxes and service charges, and approving plans and policies for the management of county resources, infrastructure, and institutions.
  • Ministerial oversight: Ministry of Devolution

Overview of local government

Local government composition
County-level government

Deliberative body: The county assembly (or the Nairobi City Assembly, in the County-City of Nairobi) is composed of reserved seat members, members elected from each ward, and a speaker. The speaker is elected by the county assembly, from amongst non-members, to preside over it; the speaker is not vested with executive powers.

Executive body: The county executive is composed of an elected county governor, the county deputy governor, and other members, as to not exceed 1/3 of the total number of county assembly members (if the assembly has less than 30 members) or ten members (if the assembly has more than 30 members). The county deputy governor is nominated by the county governor; the additional members of the county executive are appointed by the county governor with approval by the county assembly from amongst non-members of the county assembly.

Local government elections
Electoral system

Electoral system for local deliberative bodies: majority/plurality (first-past-the-post)

  • A county assembly consists of members elected by the registered voters of the wards, each ward constituting a single member constituency. Members of marginalized groups, including persons with disabilities and the youth, shall be elected by proportional representation (open list).

Electoral system for county governors: majority/plurality (first-past-the-post)

  • The county governor is directly elected by voters using a plurality electoral system. The candidate which obtains the greatest number of votes is elected.

Source: Constitution of Kenya, 2010, articles 90, 177 and 180; Elections Act, 2011 (amended through 2022), article 34

Quotas

Gender quotas: Reserved seats, ranking for separate list

  • Not more than 2/3 of the members of any county assembly or county executive committee can be of the same gender. A party list for reserved seat members shall contain alternates between men and women candidates in the priority in which they are listed.
  • Reserved seat members are nominated by political parties in proportion to the number of seats received in the local deliberative body election by each political party. The number of reserved seats is determined after the declaration of elected members from each ward.
  • the Commission shall draw from the list under subsection such number of special seat members in the order given by the party, necessary to ensure that no more than two-thirds of the membership of the assembly are of the same gender.
  • The allocation of seats by the Commission shall be proportional to the number of seats won by the party in the traditional ward-based election.

Additional quotas: Disabled persons, youth

  • The State shall ensure the progressive implementation of the principle that at least five percent of the members of the public in elective and appointive bodies are persons with disabilities.
  • Each candidate list for the election of reserved seats for marginalized people must include eight candidates: at least two persons with disabilities, two youth candidates, and two persons representing another marginalized group. The list must alternate between men and women candidates; the party list referred to shall prioritize a person with disability, the youth, and any other candidate representing a marginalized group.
  • Reserved seat members are nominated by political parties in proportion to the number of seats received in the local deliberative body election by each political party. The number of reserved seats is determined after the declaration of elected members from each ward.
  • The allocation of seats by the Commission shall be proportional to the number of seats won by the party in the traditional ward-based election.

Source: Constitution of Kenya, 2010, article 177; Elections Act, 2011 (amended through 2022), articles 34 and 36

Term of elections
  • Term length: 5 years
  • Last local elections: 2022
  • Next local elections: 2027
Electoral management body

    Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC)

    National legal framework on local government
    National legal framework
    • Constitution of Kenya, 2010;
    • National Government Co-Ordination Act, 2013;
    • County Governments Act, 2012 (amended through 2020);
    • Urban Areas and Cities Act, 2011 (amended through 2019);
    • Elections Act, 2011 (amended through 2022).
    Constitutional provisions on local government

    There are constitutional provisions that establish local government in Kenya. According to Article 176 of the Constitution of Kenya of 2010, “there shall be a county government for each county, consisting of a county assembly and a county executive. Every county government shall decentralise its functions and the provision of its services to the extent that it is efficient and practicable to do so.”

    Legislative provisions on local government

    Parliament is responsible for establishing the national legal framework on local government. The key pieces of legislation which regulate local government are the Constitution of Kenya of 2010 and the County Governments Act of 2012 (amended through 2020). According to Articles 174 and 175 of the County Governments Act of 2012, “county governments shall be based on democratic principles and the separation of powers and shall have reliable sources of revenue to enable them to govern and deliver services effectively. The objects of the devolution of government are to promote democratic and accountable exercise of power, to foster national unity by recognizing diversity, to give powers of self-governance to the people and enhance the participation of the people in the exercise of the powers of the State and in making decisions affecting them, to recognize the right of communities to manage their own affairs and to further their development, to protect and promote the interests and rights of minorities and marginalized communities, to promote social and economic development and the provision of proximate, easily accessible services throughout Kenya, to ensure equitable sharing of national and local resources throughout Kenya, to facilitate the decentralization of State organs, their functions, and services from the capital of Kenya, and to enhance checks and balances and the separation of powers.”

    Sources:

    1. UN Women: Data on share of women in local government as of 1 January 2023.

    2. UN Women: Information on Head of State and Government as of 3 October 2023.

    3. Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU): Data on share of women in the single/lower chamber of parliament as of 1 January 2023.

    4. IPU and UN Women: Data on share of women in ministerial positions as of 1 January 2023.

    5. Information on local government organization as of 1 January 2023.