Politics of Kenya
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The unicameral National Assembly consists of 210 members elected to a term of up to five years from single-member constituencies, plus 12 members nominated by political parties on a proportional representation basis. The president appoints the vice president and cabinet members from among those elected to the National Assembly. The attorney general and the speaker are exofficio members of the Assembly.
The judiciary is headed by a High Court, consisting of a chief justice and High Court judges and judges of Kenya's Court of Appeal (no associate judges), all appointed by the president.
Local administration is divided among 69 rural districts, each headed by a presidentially appointed commissioner. The districts are joined to form seven rural provines. The Nairobi area has special status and is not included in any district or province. The government supervises administration of districts and provinces.
Political conditions
Since independence, Kenya has maintained remarkable stability despite changes in its political system and crises in neighboring countries. Particularly since the re-emergence of multiparty democracy, Kenyans have enjoyed an increased degree of freedom.
A cross-party parliamentary reform initiative in the fall of 1997 revised some oppressive laws inherited from the colonial era that had been used to limit freedom of speech and assembly. This improved public freedoms and contributed to generally credible national elections in December 1997.
In December 2002, Kenya held democratic and open elections and elected Mwai Kibaki as their new president. The elections, which were judged free and fair by local and international observers, marked an important turning point in Kenya's democratic evolution. President Kibaki campaigned on a policy of generating economic growth, improving education, combating corruption, and implementing a new constitution, the draft of which was produced by Professor Ghai under the Moi regime. Considerable success has been achieved in the first two policy areas, the constitutional process has become mired (see below) and the fight against corruption has been a disaster. There has been a major scandal (Anglo-Leasing), which the government has failed to investigate, John Githongo the Anti-Corruption head has resigned in protest and donor nations, in particularly the British, have made public criticisms of the lack of progress.
Following disagreements between the partners in the current government coalition, constitutional reform has proceeded slower than anticipated. The NAK faction (allied to president Kibaki) favours a centralized presidential system, while the LDP faction - which has fewer parliamentary seats in the coalition than NAK - demands a federal, parliamentary system.
Prior to the 2002 election, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)was agreed between NAK and LDP, which laid the basis for the two groups to fight the election under the NARC (Rainbow Alliance) banner. The MoU agreed that a new constitution would be established shortly after the election, which provided for the new role of a strong Prime Minister while weakening the role of President. Raila Odinga, the leader of LDP, maintains aspirations to become Prime Minister. However, the proposed new constitution has been modified by the government from what was written by Professor Ghai and amended by the Bomas committee. This maintains a strong President, who controls a weaker Prime Minister. This has lead to a split between NAK and LDP, with the former campaigning for a 'Yes' vote in the forthcoming referendum on the constitution and the latter a 'No'. Also supporting a 'No' vote is the majority of Uhuru Kenyatta's KANU party, the sole party of government from independence to 2002. It is possible that the political alignment over the referendum could signal a wider re-alignment before the 2007 elections.
Internal wrangling within the governing coalition has also negatively affected other crucial areas of governance, notably the planned large-scale privatization of government-owned enterprises.
Political parties and elections
Template:Kenyan presidential election, 2002 Template:Kenyan legislative election, 2002
Political facts
 | This article was imported from the CIA's World Factbook. |
Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Kenya
conventional short form: Kenya
former: British East Africa
Data code: KE
Government type: republic
Capital: Nairobi
Administrative divisions: 7 provinces and 1 area*: Central, Coast, Eastern, Nairobi Area*, North Eastern, Nyanza, Rift Valley, Western
Independence: December 12, 1963 (from UK)
National holiday: Independence Day, 12 December (1963)
Constitution: 12 December 1963, amended as a republic 1964; reissued with amendments 1979, 1983, 1986, 1988, 1991, 1992, 1997 and 2001
Legal system: based on English common law, tribal law, and Islamic law; judicial review in High Court; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations; constitutional amendment of 1982 making Kenya a de jure one-party state repealed in 1991
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Mwai Kibaki (since 30 December 2002) and Vice President Moody Awori (since 25 September 2003); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Mwai Kibaki (since 30 December 2002) and Vice President Moody Awori (since 25 September 2003); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president
elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; in addition to receiving the largest number of votes in absolute terms, the presidential candidate must also win 25% or more of the vote in at least five of Kenya's seven provinces and one area to avoid a runoff
Judicial branch:
Court of Appeal, chief justice is appointed by the president; High Court
Political pressure groups and leaders:
human rights groups; labor unions; Muslim organizations; National Convention Executive Council or NCEC, a proreform coalition of political parties and nongovernment organizations (Kivutha Kibwana); Protestant National Council of Churches of Kenya or NCCK (Mutava Musyimi); Roman Catholic and other Christian churches; Supreme Council of Kenyan Muslims or SUPKEM (Shaykh Abdul Gafur al-Busaidy, chairman)
International organization participation:
ACP, AfDB, C, EADB, ECA, FAO, G-15, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OAU, OPCW, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMISET, UNMOP, UNU, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Flag description:
three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and green; the red band is edged in white; a large warrior's shield covering crossed spears is superimposed at the center. Colour significance - Black->Our colour, Red->The Blood Shed to gain independence, Green->The richness of our soil, plant life, White-> purity
See also
References
- Photojournalist's Account - Images of Kenya's last presidential election
- CIA World Factbook Entry