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Article 137 · Part 2—The President and Deputy President

Qualifications and disqualifications for election as President

In plain English

A presidential candidate must be a citizen by birth, qualified to be an MP, party-nominated or independent, and backed by 2,000 voters from each of a majority of counties. Foreign allegiance or public office disqualifies, except for the President, Deputy President and MPs.

The official text

(1) A person qualifies for nomination as a presidential candidate if the person—

(a) is a citizen by birth;

(b) is qualified to stand for election as a member of Parliament;

(c) is nominated by a political party, or is an independent candidate; and

(d) is nominated by not fewer than two thousand voters from each of a majority of the counties.

(2) A person is not qualified for nomination as a presidential candidate if the person—

(a) owes allegiance to a foreign state; or

(b) is a public officer, or is acting in any State or other public office.

(3) Clause (2)(b) shall not apply to—

(a) the President;

(b) the Deputy President; or

(c) a member of Parliament.

Questions this Article answers

YesCan I run for office without belonging to a political party?Yes. You can stand as an independent candidate if you have not been a member of a registered political party for at least three months before the election and enough registered voters support you.

Summaries and answers are a plain-English guide written by Iam254, not legal advice. The official text is what counts. Official text: Constitution of Kenya, 2010, Kenya Law (National Council for Law Reporting), legislation as at 3 September 2010. It has not been amended since.