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News

A brief history of Kenya’s presidential elections

Lynn Nyaera Onywere
Graphics by Marcus Ezra
Published April 2021
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The republic of Kenya gained independence from the British on 12th December 1963 and was declared a republic in 1964. Kenya is a presidential representative democratic republic where the people elect representatives to represent them. The state is headed by a president.

In Summary

As the 2022 Kenyan general election approaches, it is important to understand past elections from how they were run to what changes were made either for better or worse for the democracy of the country. The article provides a brief history on past Kenyan presidential elections.

Kenya as an Independent Country

1963

The last general election before Kenya gained independence was held between 18th and 26th May 1963. The elections were held to vote in members of the house of representatives and senate. The main political parties involved was the Kenya African National Union (KANU) represented by Jomo Kenyatta, the Kenya African Democratic Union (KADU) represented by Ronald Ngala and the African Peoples Party (APP) represented by Paul Ngei.

KANU won 83 out of the 129 seats for the house of representatives and 18 of the 38 seats in the senate, making them the ruling party. Jomo Kenyatta won the popular vote getting 988,381 votes out of the 1,843,879 eligible votes cast. He became the Prime Minister of Kenya and upon Kenya gaining independence became the president.

The number of general elections Kenya has held since gaining its independence from Britain in 1963
The number of presidents that Kenya has had in its post-independence period
The length of years of a single term for a president in Kenya. It has been the same since 1963.
The percentage turnout for the 2017 general elections. It was the highest ever in the country’s election history.

12

4

5

79

Single Party Era. Kenya as a de facto one party state

1969

The first general election held in the republic of Kenya happened on the 6th of December 1969. Kenya had become a de facto one party state after president Jomo Kenyatta banned the Kenya Peoples Union (KPU) on the 30th of October 1969.

1974

The 1974 Kenyan elections were held on 14th October 1974. Jomo Kenyatta was the sole candidate and remained president.

1979

The 1979 Kenyan general elections were held on 8th November 1979. Kenya was a de facto one party state with KANU as the political party.  Daniel Toroitich Arap Moi under KANU was the sole presidential candidate and was therefore automatically elected without the vote being held.

1983

The 1983 general elections in Kenya were held on 26th September 1983. Kenya was officially a one party state with KANU as the party. Other political parties were banned from the country. Daniel Arap Moi was the sole presidential candidate and was automatically reelected as president.

1983

The 1988 general elections in Kenya was held on 21st March 1988. Daniel Arap Moi was the sole candidate and was automatically reelected as president.

Presidents of Kenya since 1964

Jomo Kenyatta
President from 1964 to his death in 1978. 14 years in power.
Daniel Toroitich Arap Moi
President from 1978 to his retirement in 2002. 24 years in power. Moi died in 2020.
Mwai Kibaki

President from 2002 to his retirement in 2013 after the end of his two 5-year terms as president.

Uhuru Kenyatta
President from 2013 to the present. Uhuru is serving his second and last 5-year term, set to end in 2022.

Multi-party Democracy

1992

Kenya transitioned to a multi-party political system in 1991 after 26 years of single party rule under KANU. Five months before the end of his term on 28th October 1992 president Moi dissolved the parliament causing a need for all elective seats to be filled by the elections. The elections were pushed from 7th December 1992 to the 29th of December the same year.

The elections in this year was the first multiparty elections since independence and the first time the people directly voted for a president. The candidates were Daniel Arap Moi for KANU, Kenneth Matiba for FORD Asili, Mwai Kibaki for the Democratic party and Jaramogi Odinga for FORD Kenya. Daniel Arap Moi won the elections though multiple claims of voter and opponent intimidation, ballot stuffing and harassment of election officials were made.

There were 5,270,516 eligible votes cast. Daniel Arap Moi won the election, getting 1,927,645 votes, Kenneth Matiba had 1,354,856 votes, Mwai Kibaki 1,035,507 votes, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga 903,886 votes. The rest went to several smaller political parties that had candidates in the race.

Kenneth Matiba filed a petition against President Moi in 1993. It was thrown out due to it not being personally signed by him. He was incapacitated at the time and had given power of attorney to his wife.

1997

The 1997 elections happened on the 29th of December 1997. The presidential candidates were Daniel Arap Moi for KANU, Mwai Kibaki for the Democratic party, Raila Odinga for National Development Party(NDP) Michael Kijana Wamalwa for FORD Kenya and Charity Ngilu for the Social Democratic Party(SDP)

There were 6,189,684 eligible votes cast. Daniel Moi won the election with 2,500,865 votes followed by Mwai Kibaki with1,911,742 votes, Raila Odinga with 667,886 votes, Michael Kijana Wamalwa with 505,704 votes, Charity Ngilu with 488,600 votes and candidates from other political parties with the rest of the votes.

Mwai Kibaki served a petition against Moi in 1993, publishing the notice on the Kenya Gazette. It was thrown out by judges claiming he should have served the petition to Moi personally.

Independence from Britain

1963

In May, Kenya holds its first general election before gaining independence from Britain.

Candidates

Jomo Kenyatta of Kenya African National Union (KANU) wins and becomes Prime Minister.

Ronald Ngala of Kenya African Democratic Union (KADU)

Paul Ngei of African Peoples Party (APP)

Jomo Kenyatta, 14 YEARS IN POWER

1969

Kenya holds its first general election as a republic in December. Kenya is by then a de facto one party state after the opposition Kenya Peoples Union (KPU) was banned

1974

Elections are held in October. Jomo Kenyatta is the sole candidate and remains president.

1978

Jomo Kenyatta dies in office. General elections are held in November. Kenya is still a de facto one party state under KANU. Daniel Toroitich Arap Moi of KANU is the sole presidential candidate and succeeds Kenyatta.

Daniel Toroitich Arap Moi succeeds Kenyatta

1983

General elections take place in September. KANU is the ruling party. Other political parties were banned from the country. Daniel Arap Moi as the sole presidential candidate is automatically reelected as president.

Daniel Toroitich Arap Moi succeeds Kenyatta

1988

Daniel Arap Moi of KANU is the sole presidential candidate and is once again automatically reelected as president. This will be Kenya’s last election as a one party state. Calls for multipartisim are intensifying.

2002

The 2002 general elections were held on 27th December 2002. The presidential candidates were Mwai Kibaki for the National Rainbow Coalition(NARC) Uhuru Kenyatta for KANU and Simon Nyachae for FORD People.

There were 5,861,904 eligible votes cast. Mwai Kibaki won the presidency with 3,646,277 votes followed by Uhuru Kenyatta with 1,835,890 votes, Simeon Nyachae with 345,152 votes and the rest divided within presidential candidates of smaller political parties.

2007

The 2007 general elections were held on 27th December of the year. Voters voted for the president, members of the national assembly and for local leaders.

Mwai Kibaki ran under the Party of National Unity(PNU) which was an alliance of various political parties including KANU, the Democratic Party, NARC Kenya FORD Kenya, FORD People and others. Raila Odinga ran under the Orange Democratic Movement(ODM) and Kalonzo Musyoka ran under ODM Kenya, a group that split from the original ODM.

The voting count was interfered with by irregularities riddled throughout the electoral process. The Electoral Commission of Kenya(ECK), the commission that ran the election could not establish credibility in the tallying process and could not give exact numbers before announcing a winner.

Mwai Kibaki was announced winner on the 30th of December and was sworn in for a second term later on the same day. This started a slew of post-election violence that continued into February 2008. Many were displaced and killed during this period. The country was starting to recover by March and was stable by April. Mwai Kibaki remained president and Raila Odinga was made Prime Minister of the country.

Elections Under a New Constitution

2013

The 2013 elections were held on the 4th of March. This election was the first to run under the new voting commission, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission(IEBC).

The candidates were Uhuru Kenyatta with William Ruto as his running mate for deputy president under the National Alliance(TNA) and backed by the Jubilee Alliance against Raila Odinga with Kalonzo Musyoka as his running mate of the Orange Democratic Movement(ODM) backed by the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy(CORD). There were several other candidates vying for the seat but they were the main contenders.

12,221,053 eligible votes were cast. Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto won the election with 6,173,433 votes while Raila Odinga and Kalonzo Musyoka got 5,340,546 votes.

Multiparty Politics Comeback

1992

First multiparty elections since independence and the first time the people directly voted for a president.

Kenya had transitioned to a multi party system in 1991 after 26 years of single party rule under KANU.

 

Candidates (major)

Daniel Arap Moi of KANU – Winner with 36.6% of the vote.

Kenneth Matiba of FORD Asili – 25.7%

Mwai Kibaki of Democratic Party (DP) – 19.6%

Jaramogi Odinga of FORD Kenya – 17.1%

Daniel Arap Moi, 24 YEARS IN POWER

1997

In December, Kenya holds its second election as a multiparty state.

Candidates (major)

Daniel Arap Moi of KANU – Winner with 40.4% of the vote.

Mwai Kibaki of Democratic Party (DP) – 30.9%

Raila Odinga of National Development Party (NDP) – 10.8%

Michael K. Wamalwa of FORD Kenya – 8.2%

Charity Ngilu of Social Democratic Party (SDP) – 7.9%

2002

Daniel Arap Moi retires after 24 years as president and euphoric elections are held in December.

Candidates (major)

Mwai Kibaki of National Rainbow Coalition(NARC)  – Winner with 61.3% of the vote.

Uhuru Kenyatta of KANU – 31.2%

Simon Nyachae of FORD People – 5.9%

2007

Mwai Kibaki wins a controversial election. The result lead to post-election violence with several killed and displaced. After peace talks, a government of national unity is formed with Mwai Kibaki as President and Raila Odinga as Prime Minister.

Candidates (major)

Mwai Kibaki of Party of National Unity(PNU) – Winner with 46.2% of the vote.

Raila Odinga of Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) – 44.1%

Kalonzo Musyoka of ODM Kenya -. 8.9%

Mwai Kibaki, 10 YEARS IN POWER. Two 5-year terms

2013

Mwai Kibaki’s two terms come to an end elections are held in March. Kenya had promulgated a new constitution in 2010. Under it, a presidential candidate must get over 50% of the vote to be declared a winner, else a rerun is triggered.

Candidates (major)

Uhuru Kenyatta of National Alliance (TNA)  – Winner with 50.5% of the vote.

Raila Odinga of Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD) – 43.7%

2017

Elections are held in August and Uhuru Kenyatta is reelected for a second year term.

Kenya records the highest voter turn out in its history at 79.5%

Candidates (major)

Uhuru Kenyatta of Jubilee Party – Winner with 54.2% of the vote.

Raila Odinga of National Super Alliance – 44.9%

2022

Next general election is scheduled for August. Uhuru Kenyatta is expected to retire.

Uhuru Kenyatta. INCUMBENT, serving his last & second 5-year term, until 2022
2017

The 2017 elections were held on 8th August of the year.  The candidates were Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto running for a second term under the Jubilee party and Raila Odinga and Kalonzo Musyoka under the National Super Alliance. Other parties had candidates for the presidential seat but they were the main contenders.

15,181,540 eligible votes were cast during this election year. Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto won the election with 8,223,369 votes. Raila Odinga and Kalonzo Musyoka had 6,822,812 votes.

Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto were declared president and deputy president elect on 11th August 2017. The National Super Alliance disputed the results leading to the nullification of Kenyatta’s election victory by the Supreme Court. An order for a new election to be held after 60 days was given.

Raila Odinga withdrew from the second election claiming the IEBC could not ensure fair and transparent elections. The second election took place with the IEBC choosing to not rush the election results. Uhuru Kenyatta was declared winner and was sworn in for his second term on the 28th of November 2017.

2022

The next general elections in Kenya are to be held on the 9th of August 2022.

The Writer:

Lynn Nyaera Onywere is a 21-year-old writer with a love for history and research. She aspires to write a fictional novel based on Kenyan history and culture in the future.

Data References:
https://africanelections.tripod.com
http://archive.ipu.org
https://www.electionguide.org

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