Parties face gender rule headache in IEBC bill
A new electoral reform bill in Kenya proposes shifting the burden of the two-thirds gender rule from Parliament to political parties. Parties would be required to alternate male and female candidates on their nomination lists to ensure gender balance before the 2027 general election.
Why it matters
This represents a major shift in Kenyan electoral law aimed at finally resolving a long-standing constitutional requirement for gender representation.
Political parties would be compelled to field significantly more women in the 2027 general election under sweeping electoral reforms seeking to finally implement Kenya's elusive two-thirds gender rule.
The proposed Election Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026 shifts the burden of achieving gender balance from Parliament after elections to political parties before Kenyans cast their votes.
If enacted, every political party would be required to ensure that not more than two-thirds of its candidates for Parliament are of the same gender.
“Each political party shall ensure that not more than two-thirds of the candidates of the political party submitted to the commission in a general election for parliamentary elections are of the same gender,” the proposed reads.
It is one of the boldest attempts yet to implement a constitutional requirement that has remained largely unfulfilled since the constitution was promulgated in 2010.
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