Who can run for office: MCA, MP, Senator, governor or President
Constitution of Kenya 2010 and Elections Act 2011 · sources read 5 Oct 2026
To run for MP, Senator or MCA you must be a registered voter, a Kenyan citizen for at least the last 10 years, and nominated by a party or backed by enough voters as an independent (1,000 for MP, 2,000 for Senator, 500 for MCA). A governor must qualify as an MCA, and a presidential candidate must be a citizen by birth who qualifies as an MP and has 2,000 nominating voters in each of a majority of counties.
- Deadline
- Public officers: resign at least 6 months before a general election, or within 7 days of a by-election vacancy being declared.
- Deadline
- Independents: out of any party for 3 months before the election; name and symbol to IEBC 90 days before; nomination paper 60 days before a general election.
- Deadline
- IEBC must settle a nomination dispute within 10 days of it being lodged.
- Where
- IEBC (registration, nomination and nomination disputes); your political party for party tickets
Steps
- Make sure you are a registered voter, since every candidate must be one.
- To run as an independent, leave any political party at least 3 months before the election, give IEBC your name and symbol at least 90 days before a general election, and hand in your nomination paper at least 60 days before.
- If you are a public officer, resign at least 6 months before the election date (within 7 days of a vacancy being declared for a by-election).
- If you have a dispute about nominations, you can take it to IEBC, which must decide it within 10 days.
Watch out
- You cannot run for MP if you are a public officer, sat on the IEBC in the last 5 years, have not been a citizen for the last 10 years, are an MCA, are of unsound mind, are an undischarged bankrupt, are under a prison sentence of at least 6 months, or were found to have abused office or broken Chapter Six (integrity). The same bars apply to MCAs.
- These bars only apply once every appeal or review of the sentence or decision is finished.
- A presidential candidate cannot owe allegiance to a foreign state or be a public officer, though a sitting President, Deputy President or MP can run.
- You need a university degree to be nominated: the Elections Act requires a degree from a university recognised in Kenya for MP and MCA candidates in general elections after 2017.
- Candidates for President, Deputy President, Governor and Deputy Governor also need a degree from a university recognised in Kenya.
Who this covers
- MP and Senator: a registered voter who meets the educational, moral and ethical requirements set by the Constitution or an Act, nominated by a party or running as an independent.
- An independent for the National Assembly needs at least 1,000 registered voters in the constituency backing them; for the Senate, at least 2,000 in the county.
- MCA: a registered voter who meets the same requirements, nominated by a party or an independent backed by at least 500 registered voters in the ward.
- Governor: anyone eligible for election as an MCA.
- President: a citizen by birth who qualifies to stand as an MP, nominated by a party or as an independent, and backed by at least 2,000 voters in each of a majority of the counties.
Official sources (2)
- Constitution of Kenya, 2010 new.kenyalaw.org · read 3 Oct 2026
- Elections Act, No. 24 of 2011 new.kenyalaw.org · read 5 Oct 2026