At stake in this election:

• The office of President of Kenya

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.**

* In the Senate, there are specific proportional representation requirements. 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.

** In the National Assembly, there are also specific proportional representation requirements. 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 Candidates in the Presidential race:

• Raila ODINGA*
  • Coalition: Coalition for the Restoration of Democracy (CORD)
• Uhuru KENYATTA**
  • Coalition: The Jubilee Coalition
• Peter KENNETH
  • Party: Kenya National Congress
• Musalia MUDAVADI
  • Party: United Democratic Forum (UDF)
• Martha KARUA
  • Party: National Rainbow Coalition-Kenya (NARC-K)
• James Ole KIYIAPI
  • Party: Restore and Build Kenya
• Mwalimu Mohamed DIDA
  • Party: Alliance for Real Change
• Paule MUITE
  • Party: Safina Party

* CORD, launched in December 2012, brings together several democratic parties that include the Wiper Democratic Movement, the Forum for the Restoration of Democracy (FORD), and the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM). **Jubilee Coalition, launched in January 2013, brings together The National Alliance (TNA), the United Republican Party (URP) and the National Rainbow Coalition (NARC).

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 43,013,341 (July 2012 est.)
• Registered Voters: 14,352,533 (March 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.)