The County Governments Election Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024

Background

Under Article 177(1)(c) of the Constitution of Kenya, county assemblies must include members of marginalised groups, including persons with disabilities and the youth, as prescribed by an Act of Parliament. Currently, Section 7(1)(a) of the County Governments Act provides for six seats for marginalised groups, while Sections 36(1)(f) and 36(8) of the Elections Act provide for four seats.

Because current laws do not explicitly distribute these available seats among specific interest groups, over twenty counties lacked any representation of persons with disabilities in the recently concluded general elections, while others lacked representation for youth. This Bill seeks to resolve this gap by establishing clear, mandatory allocation guidelines.

Key Amendments

Amendments to the Elections Act (No. 24 of 2011)

• Section 36(1)(f): Revised to dictate that the party list under Article 177(1)(c) of the Constitution must contain exactly two candidates representing the youth, two candidates representing a marginalised group, and candidates with disability reflecting the number of wards in the county.
• Section 36(3): Amended to mandate that the party list for persons with disabilities must account for various classifications of impairments, including physical, hearing, and visual impairments.
• Section 36(8): Replaced to require the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission to draw the necessary number of special seat members from the party lists to ensure that at least five percent of the county assembly members are persons with disability.

Amendments to the County Governments Act (No. 17 of 2012)

• Section 7(1): Amended to define the specific composition of nominated members representing marginalised groups in a county assembly. This comprises:
  • Two nominated members (one man and one woman) representing the youth;
  • Two nominated members (one man and one woman) representing marginalised groups; and
  • Five percent of the total assembly members (combining elected, gender-top-up, and youth/marginalised group nominees) representing persons with disability.
• Section 7(2): Amended to insert a new paragraph requiring representation across the various categories of disabilities, including physical, hearing, and visual impairments.

New Obligations

• Political Parties: Must structure their party lists to maintain the required alternating gender balance and ensure the explicit inclusion of youth, marginalised groups, and persons with physical, hearing, and visual disabilities.
• Electoral Commission: Obligated to calculate and draw nominees in a manner that strictly achieves the mandatory five percent minimum representation threshold for persons with disabilities in every county assembly.