Registration, funding, coalitions, party hopping and primaries.
Search the official Constitution →Political parties are the vehicles through which most candidates seek office in Kenya. They are registered and regulated by the Registrar of Political Parties, must have a national character, and can receive public funding and form coalitions.
Article 91; Articles 91–92To operate, a political party must be registered by the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties and meet constitutional standards — including a national character and an open, democratic structure.
Article 91Qualifying political parties receive public money through the Political Parties Fund, drawn from the national budget and shared mainly according to the votes and seats a party wins.
Parties often join forces in coalitions to win power, and there are rules about moving between parties — including that an elected member can lose their seat for ditching the party that sponsored them.
Article 103Before the general election, parties pick their candidates through primaries (nominations). Winning a party primary is often the real contest in a party’s strongholds — so these internal votes matter.
