C ommo nwe a l t h memb e r c o u n t r i e s and is appointed by the President of Kenya on the recommendation of the Judicial Service Commission, subject to the approval of the National Assembly. Judges are also appointed by the President with the advice of the Judicial Service Commission. The High Court deals with the most serious cases under civil and criminal law, as well as appeals from the lower courts. The High Court is based in Nairobi and has resident judges in cities and towns across the country, including Eldoret, Kisumu, Meru, Mombasa and Nakuru. Less serious cases are heard by magistrates. Appeals from the High Court are heard by the Kenya Court of Appeal, which comprises at least 12 judges. The new constitution recognises Kadhi courts to administer Islamic Law. Government and politics Last elections: 4 March 2013 (presidential, legislative and local) Next elections: 2018 (presidential, legislative and local) Head of state: President Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta Head of government: The President Ruling party: Jubilee Coalition Women MPs: 19% At his third attempt, in a relatively peaceful contest, Mwai Kibaki, the candidate of the National Rainbow Coalition (NARC), comfortably won the presidential election in December 2002, with 62.2 per cent of the votes, while Uhuru Kenyatta (the son of Kenya’s first President), standing for the Kenya African National Union (KANU), received 31.3 per cent. The NARC gained a substantial majority in the parliamentary elections, winning 125 seats; KANU took 64 and FORD–People (Forum for the Restoration of Democracy) 14. The Commonwealth observer group present commended the Electoral Commission, saying that the elections ‘represented a major improvement on previous such exercises’ and describing the electoral process as credible. In a referendum in November 2005 a proposed new constitution was decisively rejected. Opposition to this constitution was led by a new grouping, the ‘Orange team’, comprising Uhuru Kenyatta’s KANU and the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), a party with members in Kibaki’s cabinet. Kibaki then dismissed his cabinet. When in December he formed a new cabinet, he excluded opponents of the new constitution (mainly LDP members) and included members of minority parties to shore up support for his government. In 2007, when elections were due, the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), led by Raila Odinga, and Orange Democratic Movement-Kenya (ODM–K), led by Kalonzo Musyoka, emerged as the main opponents to Mwai Kibaki and his newly formed coalition, the Party of National Unity (PNU). The PNU included KANU, which had earlier left the Orange team; FORD–Kenya; NARC–Kenya (an offshoot of NARC); and several smaller parties. Tensions were high in the pre-election period, with outbreaks of violence. Following a relatively peaceful polling day on 27 December 2007, the Orange team decisively won the parliamentary elections; ODM took 99 seats and its partner, NARC, three. The ruling PNU took 43 seats and its coalition partners 35 seats. Of the remaining constituencies declared, ODM–K won in 16 and independents in 11. A re-run was ordered in the three undeclared constituencies. Unofficial results of the presidential election indicated Raila Odinga led Kibaki by at least 200,000 votes and the absence of any official declaration provoked widespread unrest in the country. When on 30 December 2007 the Electoral Commission published results, Kibaki was ahead with 4,584,721 votes, then Odinga with 4,352,993 and Musyoka with 879,903. Commonwealth observers noted that the elections were ‘the most competitive in the country’s history’, but raised doubts on the handling of the final stages of the presidential election, particularly the delay in announcing the results. Protests about the presidential election results erupted and intensified in a period that became one of the most violent since independence, and hundreds of people were killed. Some of the violence assumed an ethnic dimension, with the Kikuyu perceived as pro-Kibaki and the Luo as Odinga supporters. The opposing leaders eventually agreed to work together in a power-sharing coalition government, with Kibaki as President and Odinga as Prime Minister. The agreement was brokered by a group of eminent persons led by former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. In March 2008 the National Assembly enacted a law to formalise the deal. Odinga subsequently became Prime Minister in a grand coalition government. The presidential election held in March 2013 was won in the first round by Uhuru Kenyatta, the candidate of the Jubilee Coalition. He secured 50.1 per cent of votes cast, Raila Odinga of the Governance institutions Commonwealth Governance Handbook 2014/15 180 Bureau of Standards: www.kebs.org Capital Markets Authority: www.cma.or.ke Central Bank of Kenya: www.centralbank.go.ke Commission for the Implementation of the Constitution: www.cickenya.org Communications Commission: www.cck.go.ke Energy Regulatory Commission: www.erc.go.ke Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission: www.eacc.go.ke Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission: www.iebc.or.ke Judiciary: www.judiciary.go.ke Ministry of Finance: www.treasury.go.ke Ministry of Justice, National Cohesion and Constitutional Affairs: www.cohesion.or.ke/index.php/partners?id=104 Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade: www.mfa.go.ke Nairobi Securities Exchange: www.nse.co.ke Parliament of Kenya: www.parliament.go.ke Public Procurement Oversight Authority: www.ppoa.go.ke Vision 2030: www.vision2030.go.ke Water Resources Management Authority: www.wrma.or.ke
CEP template 2012
To see the actual publication please follow the link above