General elections were held in Kenya on 8 August 2017 to elect the President, members of the National Assembly and Senate.IEBC announces 2017 election date Daily Nation, 10 December 2015 They coincided with the 2017 Kenyan local elections which elected Governors and representatives in the devolved governments.
The published results showed that incumbent President Uhuru Kenyatta of the Jubilee Party had been re-elected with 54% of the vote. However, his main opponent, Raila Odinga of the Orange Democratic Movement, refused to accept the results and contested them in the Supreme Court. The results of the presidential election were subsequently annulled by the court and fresh presidential elections were ordered to be held within 60 days.Kenya presidential election cancelled by Supreme Court BBC News, 1 September 2017 It was later announced that the elections would be held in October.Kenya to Hold New Presidential Vote Next Month VOA News, 6 September 2017
The results of the parliamentary and local elections remained valid. The Jubilee Party retained its majority in the Senate, winning 34 of the 67 seats, and remained the largest party in the National Assembly with 171 of the 341 seats. The Orange Democratic Movement won 20 seats in the Senate and 76 in the National Assembly.
Background The Kenyan Constitution requires a general election on the second Tuesday in August in every fifth year. There have been public discussions to move the date from August to December with proponents pointing to the 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.Majority MPs back election date change from August to December Daily Nation, 6 August 2015
Opponents of the proposed date change have argued for protecting the constitutional provision and that any change would be mired by legal challenges and might drag on to the next elections and still require a referendum to decide, putting the country's stability at risk.
On 7 August 2017, one day before the election, Barack Obama, who served as the 44th President of the United States from 2009 to 2017 and whose father, Barack Obama Sr., was Kenyan, called for calm and acceptance of the election results.
Electoral system 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 and at least 25% of the vote in a minimum of 24 of the 47 counties.Presidential Candidates Kenya Diaspora VoteArticle 138 (4) Constitution of Kenya 2010
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.Electoral system Inter-Parliamentary Union 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 seat share.art.90(3) Constitution of Kenya
Party primaries The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission set the duration for political parties to conduct their primaries in April 2017 following the review of Kenya's Election Laws. Parties would have 14 days between 20 April and 2 May to conduct their primaries and submit their candidates to the electoral commission.Party primaries slotted for April as IEBC reviews timelines ahead of polls The Star, 10 February 2017
Conduct William Ruto home siege On 29 July 2017, Deputy President William Ruto's house was attacked by a local man armed with a machete. During the siege, the deputy president and his family were not present. The assailant first injured the guard on duty, held him hostage and then killed him. The siege lasted 18 hours before special forces of the Kenyan Police shot the attacker dead. The motives of the attacker were unknown and members of the public were unaware how a man armed with a machete held the elite police forces at bay for 18 hours.
Msando murder On 27 July 2017, two bodies were found on the outskirts of Nairobi. One of the dead, Christopher Msando, was the head of information, communication, and technology at the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission. He played a major role in developing the new voting system for the election. His body showed apparent marks of torture before he was murdered for unclear reasons. Alongside it was the body of a 21-year-old woman, Maryanne Ngumbu. The FBI and Scotland Yard offered to help in the investigation.
The murder of Msando raised suspicion among the opposition that it was part of a plot by the ruling party to rig the election, as it appeared Msando was standing in the way.
Andrew Kipkoech Rono, 58, who was arrested over allegations he sent a threatening message to Msando before he was killed, appeared before High Court judge, James Wakiaga.
Results President Kenyatta had maintained 10+% lead over Odinga in most polls for many weeks, but the two most recent polls before the election suggested a much closer race. The outcome was reported as a 9.5% victory for Kenyatta. On 10 August, provisional results released by the Kenyan electoral commission put Kenyatta ahead by 54.2% to Odinga's 44.92%. The head of the EU delegation Marietje Schaake said there had been no sign of manipulation of the result at central or local level and urged all sides to accept the result.
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) declared incumbents Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto as president-elect and deputy president-elect respectively on the evening of 11 August 2017. The National Super Alliance disputed the results.
By county #CountyUhuru KenyataRaila OdingaOthersTotalRegisteredvotersTurnoutVotesVotesVotes1Mombasa99,50829.10238,94369.903,5751.00342,026580,22358.952Kwale43,81223.70138,66475.002,3071.20184,783281,04165.753Kilifi49,69315.20273,85283.604,1961.30327,741508,06864.514Tana River40,31746.1045,64152.201,4901.7087,448118,32773.905Lamu24,22548.9024,42349.308681.8049,51669,77670.966Taita Taveta31,15827.7079,83270.901,5421.40112,532155,71672.277Garissa54,82548.3054,78448.303,9053.40113,514163,35069.498Wajir61,19951.2052,84044.205,4824.60119,521162,90273.379Mandera113,46983.0018,12213.305,0543.70136,645175,64277.8010Marsabit92,68183.6016,11414.502,0261.80110,821141,70878.2011Isiolo26,73249.3019,02935.108,44015.6054,20175,33871.9412Meru483,03388.9055,95110.304,5960.80543,580702,48077.3813Tharaka–Nithi162,92393.3010,3345.901,4580.80174,715213,15481.9714Embu232,40992.2017,6237.002,1080.80252,140309,46881.4815Kitui64,72618.00287,19879.907,4342.10359,358474,51275.7316Machakos83,03917.60381,22080.906,8531.50471,112620,25475.9517Makueni27,4248.20301,15590.603,9031.20332,482423,31078.5418Nyandarua286,55599.002,3050.806240.20289,484335,63486.2519Nyeri388,36298.404,7191.201,4280.40394,509456,94986.3420Kirinyaga297,08698.603,1171.001,0580.40301,261349,83686.1121Murang'a498,05197.909,1331.801,6240.30508,808587,12686.6622Kiambu913,60792.7069,1577.002,6530.30985,4171,180,92083.4423Turkana59,23944.9071,32654.101,2490.90131,814191,43568.8624West Pokot97,67764.8051,93034.401,1740.80150,781180,23283.6625Samburu31,78649.7031,66149.505410.8063,98882,78777.2926Trans Nzoia110,33844.60134,46254.302,8401.10247,640339,62272.9227Uasin Gishu267,39278.2072,57421.201,9340.60341,900450,05575.9728Elgeyo Marakwet138,75594.707,0464.807840.50146,585180,66481.1429Nandi235,73986.8034,14812.601,6860.60271,573346,00778.4930Baringo161,63484.9027,72514.601,0850.60190,444232,25882.0031Laikipia177,74789.1020,87210.509270.50199,546246,48780.9632Nakuru639,52884.80111,78914.803,2200.40754,537949,61879.4633Narok149,98953.10130,05646.102,1660.80282,211341,73082.5834Kajiado186,32657.10138,58542.501,3860.40326,297411,19379.3535Kericho281,77392.9019,5626.402,1350.70303,470375,66880.7836Bomet229,58187.0032,00212.102,2790.90263,862322,01281.9437Kakamega63,91011.50485,37387.406,2981.10555,581743,73674.7038Vihiga18,5629.10181,88989.602,4511.20202,902272,40974.4839Bungoma127,41530.20287,31668.107,1851.70421,916559,85075.3640Busia34,49612.50240,41686.802,0220.70276,934351,04878.8941Siaya2,5330.70376,64799.108400.20380,020457,95382.9842Kisumu7,7431.80430,22997.901,4510.30439,423539,21081.4943Homa Bay1,9520.50400,21899.406660.20402,836476,87584.4744Migori45,65514.20274,93885.401,5340.50322,127388,63382.8945Kisii175,41543.20224,85555.405,6021.40405,872546,58074.2646Nyamira106,89452.1095,47046.502,9121.40205,276278,85373.6147Nairobi City793,06548.50834,03251.008,3190.501,635,4162,250,85372.6648Diaspora1,50452.901,32146.40190.702,8444,39364.7449Prisons1,88745.702,21453.60300.704,1315,52874.73Total8,223,36954.176,822,81244.94135,3590.8915,181,54019,611,42377.41
Counties in the Mount Kenya region showed votes decisively in support of President Kenyatta (Jubilee Party). Kenyatta secured 92.61% of the valid votes (3,579,771 votes) against Odinga's 6.68% (294,348 votes). The ten-county region exhibited high civic participation, with a voter turnout of 82.5%. Nyandarua County recorded the highest support for Kenyatta at around 99% of the total votes, while Nakuru County, despite being his lowest-performing county in the region, still gave him a commanding 84.74% of its vote.
Senate Three women, Uasin Gishu's Margaret Kamar, Susan Kihika of Nakuru and Fatuma Dullo of Isiolo became the first women in Kenya's history to be elected to the Senate rather than appointed. Kihika was also elected Senate Majority Whip on 31 August.
National Assembly
Governors Three women were elected as governors for the first time for their respective counties – Joyce Laboso of Bomet County, Charity Ngilu of Kitui County, and Anne Waiguru of Kirinyaga County. 25 out of 47 governors lost their seats. 29 of the 47 governors are members of the ruling Jubilee Party.
Reactions Domestic Opposition leader Raila Odinga, alleged that the results had been tampered with by hackers. At that time, he offered no evidence to justify his claim, which the head of Kenya's electoral commission dismissed. Following the election, there were protests in Kisumu, Kibera and Mathare where Odinga enjoys major political support, some of which turned violent and deadly. Odinga published his own results, which put him ahead, and claimed that the commission's IT system had been hacked and that Kenya had seen the worst "voter theft" in its history. The chairman of the electoral commission, Wafula Chebukati, responded that his organisation was the only body allowed to count votes and that while there had been an attempt to hack the commission, it had failed. A week after the vote, Odinga announced he would challenge the results in Kenya's Supreme Court.
The Economist did its own count of a small sample of paper ballots, which tallied with the electronic results.
Kenyatta's reaction incorporated invitations of several world leaders to his inauguration, including: former US President Barack Obama; German Chancellor Angela Merkel; British Prime Minister Theresa May; Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi; Chinese President Xi Jinping; Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf; Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari; Rwandan President Paul Kagame; Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni; Tanzanian President John Magufuli; South African President Jacob Zuma; His Royal Highness Aga Khan IV; and Nigerian billionaire tycoon Aliko Dangote.
International