At stake in this election:

• 67 seats in the Senate

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Mwai KIBAKI *
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Raila ODINGA **
• Assembly: Kenya has a bicameral National Assembly (Bunge) consisting of the Senate with 67 seats and the National Assembly with 349 seats.

* As per the new Constitution of 2010, presidential candidates must receive over 50 percent of total votes, and at least 25 percent of votes in half of the county's 47 counties, which were introduced to decentralize power to the local level and better facilitate people's representation.

** President is both chief of state and head of government. The prime minister is charged with coordinating government business.

Description of electoral system:

• The President is elected by qualified plurality vote to serve a 5-year term.
• In the Senate 67 members are elected a qualified plurality system*. In the National Assembly 349 members are elected a qualified plurality system.**

* Kenya's 2010 Constitution introduced a Senate directly elected by the 47 single-member districts or counties. Each county has an elected executive and county assembly. Of the 47 seats, 16 women must be nominated by political parties, according to their proportion of members in the Senate. Additionally, 2 members (1 man and 1 woman) representing the youth must be elected proportionally through party lists, and 2 members (1 man and 1 woman) representing people with disabilities must be elected proportionally through party lists.

** The 2010 Constitution introduced several requirements to better facilitate minority representation and devolve power to the local level. In addition to these 290 parliamentary seats, 12 'appointed members' are nominated by parliament through party lists, in proportion to their nationwide vote share. They must be apportioned to represent special interests of minorities, youth, and persons with disabilities. In addition, 47 women must be elected by registered voters in the 47 counties. The speaker will be an ex-officio member.

Main parties in the electoral race:

• Coalition: The Jubilee Coalition***
  • Seats won in this Senate election: 21
• Alliance: Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD)****
  • Leader: Raila ODINGA
  • Seats won in this Senate election: 19
• Party: Party of National Unity (PNU)
  • Leader: Mwai KIBAKI
  • Seats won in this Senate election: 0
• Party: NARC Kenya (NARC-K)
  • Leader: Martha KARUA
  • Seats won in this Senate election: 0
• Party: Restore and Build Kenya (RBK)
  • Leader: James ole KIYIAPI
  • Seats won in this Senate election: 0
• Coalition: Amani Coalition*****
  • Leader: Musalia MUDAVADI
  • Seats won in this Senate election: 4
• Party: Kenya National Congress
  • Leader: Herbert MWACHIRO
  • Seats won in this Senate election: 0
• Party: Alliance for Real Change (ARK)
  • Leader: Mwalimu Mohamed DIDA
  • Seats won in this Senate election: 0
• Party: National Vision Party of Kenya (NVP)
  • Leader: Nicholas BIWOTT
  • Seats won in this Senate election: 0
• Party: Federal Party of Kenya (FPK)
  • Leader: Cyrus JIRONGO
  • Seats won in this Senate election: 1
• Party: United Democratic Movement (UDM)
  • Leader: Martin Ole KAMWARO
  • Seats won in this Senate election: 0

*** The Jubilee Coalition, launched in January 2013, brings together The National Alliance (TNA), the United Republican Party (URP) and the National Rainbow Coalition (NARC).

**** CORD, launched in December 2012, brings together several democratic parties that include the Wiper Democratic Movement (formerly, Orange Democratic Movement-Kenya or ODM-K), the Forum for the Restoration of Democracy (FORD), and the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM). In the 2007 parliamentary elections, the ODM won a parliamentary majority of 100 seats and the Wiper Democratic Movement won 11 seats.
***** The coalition consists of three major parties, KANU (the Kenya African National Union), New Ford- Kenya, and the United Democratic Forum (UDF). In the 2007 parliamentary election, KANU won 14 seats in parliament, and the New Ford won 2 seats.

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 43,692,881 (2013)
• Registered Voters: 14,352,533 (2013)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 21,850,939 (2013)

·         Is Kenya a signatory to CEDAW: No

·         Has Kenya ratified CEDAW: Yes, accession (9 March 1984)

·         Gender Quota: Yes

·         Female candidates in this election: Yes

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 65 (National Assembly) (following the 2013 elections)

·         Human Development Index Position: 145 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: Medium (2014)

Disability Data:

·         Is Kenya a signatory to CRPD: Yes (30 March 2007)

·         Has Kenya ratified CRPD: Yes (19 May 2008)

·         Population with a disability: 6,452,001 (est.)