Detailed 3 Step Process on How to register a Political Party in Kenya

On July 8, 2021, The Office of the Registrar of Political Parties issued a statement highlighting the provisional registration requirements needed to register a political party in Kenya.

Today we examine how to register a political party in Kenya. Specifically:-

Where do you go to Register a Political Party in Kenya?
How much does it cost to register a Political Party in Kenya?
Complying to Preliminary or Basic requirements to form a party,
a guide on allowable names, and
Paid Name Search
Application for a Provisional Registration
Application for a Full Registration of a Political Party in Kenya
Deregistration or Compliance to avoid deregistration of a Political Party in Kenya
Important Selected Membership Clauses

A Political party is an important vehicle by which a group of citizens exercises and participate in a multi-party democracy. As of September 2021, there were a total of one hundred and twenty parties with eighty-seven fully registered and twenty-three provisionally registered political parties in Kenya. Section 34(e) of the Political Parties Act, 2011 obliges the Office of Registrar of Political Parties (ORPP) to maintain a register of political parties and the symbols of political parties.

Where to Register a Political Party in Kenya

According to Section 5 of the Political Parties Act, an association of persons or Organizations applying to be registered as a political party in Kenya may apply to the Registrar of Political Parties

Head office for the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties (ORPP) is located at

Lions Place, 1st Floor Karuna Close, Waiyaki Way, Westlands P.O. Box 1131-00606, Nairobi Kenya Tel: +254(0)204 022000 Mob: 0772281357 Email: [email protected] Regional Offices Location

How much does it cost to register a political party?

The following are the direct fees payable to the Office of the Registrar:

Search fee – Kshs. 500.00
Provisional registration – Kshs. 100,000.00
Full registration – Kshs. 500,000.00

Note: Political parties that meet the threshold provided under Sec 25(2) of the PPA 2011 are eligible for funding for the political parties fund. They can also get their funding from donations, membership contributions, and other lawful sources.

Preliminary or Basic requirements to form a party

Any association of persons or organizations may register a political party in Kenya to promote purposes that are not contrary to the Constitution and subject to the provisions of the Constitution and the Political Parties Act.

For one to register a political party, an applicant organizes the first meeting comprising of founding members where they formulate metadata for the proposed political party such as name, symbol, color, and party constitution.

Choosing an Allowable Name for a Political Party to be Registered in Kenya

The Registrar of Political Parties may refuse an application for the registration of a political party if the name of the political party, the abbreviation of the name, or the symbol that it wishes to use for the purposes of the Political Parties Act—

is obscene or offensive;
is the name or is an abbreviation of another political party that is registered under the Political Parties Act; or
so nearly resembles the name or symbol, or an abbreviation of the name of another political party registered under the Political Parties Act or any other legal entity registered under any other written law.

Procedure to Register a Political Party in Kenya

Article 92 of the Constitution empowered parliament to enact laws that will govern political parties in Kenya, resulting in the Political Parties Act. The Political Parties Act expounds on how to register a political party in Kenya.

An association of persons or organizations may register a political party in Kenya to promote purposes that are not contrary to the Constitution or any written law, subject to the provisions of the Constitution and the Political Parties Act.

The registration by the Registrar of Political Parties of any association of persons or Organization as a political party in Kenya is a three-step process.

Name Search
Provisional registration, and
Full registration

Name Search

To conduct a name search one is required to write a letter to the ORPP to activate the name search option on their portal.

Outline a list of your proposed names
attach a copy of your ID.
and pay a fee of Ksh500.

Provisional Registration Of A Political Party in Kenya

For a provisional registration submit a written application using a prescribed form. The application must include signed minutes of the first meeting of the founding members of the political party and set out the name of the proposed political party. If the political party wishes to use an abbreviation of its name for the purposes of this Act one should set out that abbreviation.

The application must also be accompanied by a copy of the constitution of the proposed political party which shall comply with the law as well as include a request for the registration of the symbol of the political party.

It also requires to be bound by this Act and the Code of Conduct set out in the first schedule and be accompanied by the prescribed fee.

Following the application process, the registrar then examines the submitted provisional registration documents within a period of 30 days.

After that, the applicant receives a provisional registration certificate upon payment of Ksh100,000 in a prescribed mode of payment.

After submission of a written application signed by an authorized official of the party, it will be vetted under a set of conditions stipulated by the ORPP.

and upon receipt, the Registrar of Political Parties should—

within fourteen days, publish a notice in the Kenya Gazette and in at least two newspapers with nationwide circulation, inviting objections from any person or any other political party concerning the registration of the name, symbol, color of the political party, or any other issue relating to the registration of the political party;
issue that association or Organization with a certificate of provisional registration within thirty days of the association or Organization fulfilling the conditions on provisional registration (see below on application for provisional registration

Once the political party is provisionally registered, the party must apply to the Registrar for full registration within a period of one hundred and eighty days from the date of first registering the party.

Failure to apply will see the provisional registration lapse at the expiry of one hundred and eighty days from the date of issue of the certificate of the provisional registration.

The provisional registration of a political party which has applied for full registration should be valid until the political party is issued with a certificate of full registration, or until the application of the political party to be registered has been rejected.

A political party that has been provisionally registered is not entitled to participate in an election.

Application Details For Provisional Registration

An application for the provisional registration of a proposed political party should be in writing, signed by the applicants, of whom not more than two-thirds should be of the same gender.

The application should:-

include signed minutes of the first meeting of the founding members of the political party;
set out the name of the political party;
set out an abbreviation if the political party wishes to use an abbreviation of its name for the purposes of the Political Parties Act;
be accompanied by a copy of the Constitution of the proposed political party which should comply with the provisions of section 9 of the Political Parties Act;
include an undertaking to be bound by the Political Parties Act and the Code of Conduct set out in the First Schedule of the Act
; and be accompanied by the prescribed fee for the registration of a political party in Kenya.

An application for provisional registration should include a request for the registration of the symbol of the political party.

Founder Member Exclusions

A person disqualified from holding public office under the Constitution, the Political Parties Act, or any other written law should not hold office in the governing body of a political party or be its founding member.

Please note that a public officer is not eligible to be a founding member of a political party or eligible to hold office in a political party. However, this provision does not apply to the following:

the President;
the Deputy President;
a Member of Parliament (a Member of the Senate, a Member of the National Assembly or a County Woman Representative);
a County Governor,
a Deputy Governor; or
a Member of a County Assembly.

Rights And Privileges Of A Provisionally Registered Political Party

A political party with provisional registration is entitled to—

hold and address public meetings in any area in Kenya for the purposes of publicizing the political party and recruiting members;
the protection and assistance of the State security agencies for the purposes of facilitating peaceful and orderly meetings; and
the provision by the State, of fair opportunity to present the political party’s programs to the public by ensuring equitable access to the State-owned media.

Provisional registration should not entitle any political party to organize or hold public meetings in connection with any election or to propose or campaign for any candidate in any election. A political party that contravenes this provision should not qualify for full registration.

Application for Full Registration of a Political Party

Conditions to meet For the Full Registration Of A Political Party

Section 6 of the Political Parties Act expounds on the conditions to be met in order to be fully registered as a political party in Kenya. It starts with a signed formal application in writing for full registration by a political party.

A provisionally registered political party should qualify to be fully registered if—

it has recruited no less than one thousand registered voters from each of more than half of the counties as members of the party;
the members recruited above reflect regional and ethnic diversity, gender balance, and representation of special interest groups;
the composition of its governing body reflects regional and ethnic diversity, gender balance, and representation of special interest groups;
not more than two-thirds of the members of its governing body are of the same gender;
it has demonstrated that members of its governing body meet the requirements of Chapter Six of the Constitution and the laws relating to ethics;
it has been submitted to the Registrar of Political Parties—
1. a list of the names, addresses, and identification particulars of all its members;
2. the location of its head office, which should be a registered office within Kenya and a postal address to which notices and other communication may be sent;
3. the location and addresses of the branch offices of the political party, which should be in more than half of the counties; and
4. the disaggregated data of its membership based on each of the components of the special interest groups (youth, women, and persons with disabilities);
it has undertaken to be bound by the Political Parties Act and the Code of Conduct set out in the First Schedule of the Act.

The Registrar of Political Parties should issue a certificate of full registration to a provisionally registered political party, which has fulfilled the conditions of full registration, within thirty days of an application for full registration.

Rules or Contents of a Constitution of A Political Party

Section 9 of the Political Parties Act outlines the contents of the Constitution of a Political Party in Kenya. The Constitution or rules of every political party should provide for all the matters specified in the Second Schedule of the Political Parties Act.

The constitution or rules of every political party should ensure that not more than two-thirds of the membership of all party organs, bodies, and committees, in aggregate, are of the same gender.

The Registrar of Political Parties may, by notice in writing, require a political party to amend its name, Constitution, or rules within three months after the date of the notice to comply with the Constitution, the Political Parties Act, and any other written law.

The notice should specify the areas of non-compliance, the nature of the amendment, and the reason for such an amendment.

If a political party does not comply with the notice issued by the Registrar of Political Parties, that political party should be deregistered.

Deregistration Of A Political Party In Kenya

The Registrar of Political Parties may deregister a political party if the political party—

has contravened the provisions of Article 91 of the Constitution (on the basic requirements to register as a political party in Kenya);
does not promote the free and fair nomination of candidates;
does not adhere to the law relating to the nomination of candidates;
does not respect the national values and principles of the Constitution;
obtained its registration in a fraudulent manner;
has instigated or participated in the commission of an election offense; or
has acted contrary to the provisions of section 26 of the Political Parties Act (using money allocated to a political party for any other purposes other than those specified in the Political Parties Act);
does not have the representation of special interest groups (youth, women, and persons with disabilities);
does not maintain the requirements for full political party registration (set out under section 7 of the Political Parties Act);
has contravened the provisions of Article 81(b) of the Constitution (which stipulates that “not more than two-thirds of the members of elective public bodies shall be of the same gender”);

Before deregistering a political party, the Registrar of Political Parties should/will—

inform the political party, in writing, of the particulars of the breach or contravention;
inform the political party, in writing, of the intention to deregister the political party; and
direct the political party to remedy the breach or contravention within ninety days or otherwise show cause why the party should not be deregistered.

The Registrar of Political Parties may suspend the registration of a political party to enable that political party to remedy the breach specified in the notice issued by the Registrar.

A political party that has been suspended as above is not entitled to any of the rights and privileges of a provisionally registered political party.

The Registrar should deregister a political party that has not remedied the breach or complied with the Political Parties Act as required by the Registrar.

The Registrar should deregister a political party that has been declared to be a prohibited Organization under the provisions of any written law.

The Registrar of Political Parties should, within fourteen days after deregistration of a political party publish a notice of the deregistration in the Kenya Gazette.

The effect of Deregistration on a Political Party

Where a political party is deregistered under the Political Parties Act, no person should—

summon a meeting of members or officers of the political party other than for purposes of winding up the political party or for purposes of challenging the deregistration of the political party;
attend or make a person attend a meeting in the capacity of a member or officer of the political party;
publish a notice or advertisement relating to a meeting of the political party except for purposes of winding up the political party or for purposes of challenging the deregistration of the political party;
invite persons to support the political party;
make a contribution or loan to funds held or to be held by or for the benefit of the political party or accept a contribution or loan; or
give a guarantee in respect of such funds.

Where a political party that has been deregistered had representatives elected to Parliament, or county assembly, such representatives should continue to serve for the remainder of their term as independents or as members of other political parties.

Where the de-registration of a political party is occasioned by a willful act or willful omission of a person who is a member of Parliament or of a County Assembly, that person should cease to be a member of Parliament or of the County Assembly.

Selected Rules on Membership to a Political Party in Kenya

A person who is not a citizen of Kenya should not be appointed to any office or be a member of a political party in Kenya.
A citizen of Kenya who has attained the age of eighteen years may contest for an elective position in a political party in which he is a member, subject to the provisions of the Political Parties Act and any other written law.
A person is disqualified from being a member of the governing body of a political party if that person—

is an undischarged bankrupt;
has been convicted of a criminal offense and sentenced to imprisonment for a period of not less than six months;
has been suspended for a period of six months for violating the code of conduct of the political party; or
has contravened the provisions of Chapter Six of the Constitution (on leadership and integrity).

10 ways to cease to be a member of a political party in Kenya

Voluntary resignation – by giving a resignation letter to the party and/or Registrar.
Expulsion – through the established party mechanisms.
Deeming – where a member acts in a manner that suggests he is in or supporting another political party, apart from a party that is in the same coalition.
Natural attrition – when a person dies they automatically cease to be a member of a party.
Write a letter of resignation. Address it to the secretary-general of the party from which you are resigning. Submit copies of the letter, and your ID to our offices, or scan and e-mail to [email protected]
If a party fraudulently enlists you, you can write to the Registrar who will then delete your details. Send a complaint e-mail with National Identification Number included to [email protected]