Nairobi, November 2, 2026
Individuals who lose elections, including presidential and deputy presidential candidates, will now have a pathway into Parliament through nomination after Members of the National Assembly voted to delete a restrictive provision in the Elections Act.
The lawmakers made the decision while passing the Elections (Amendment) Bill 2024. They specifically deleted Section 34(9) of the Elections Act, aligning the statute with a Court of Appeal judgment that had declared the provision unconstitutional.
Section 34(9) had previously barred certain candidates who contested elective seats—particularly at the presidential and deputy presidential level—from inclusion on political party lists used to nominate members to the National Assembly, Senate, or county assemblies under the special-interest and party-list seats provided for in the Constitution.
By removing the bar, the amendment creates a fallback route for defeated candidates. Political parties will now have greater flexibility to place such individuals on their party lists for the nominated seats, which are allocated proportionally based on the number of seats a party wins in the general election.
The change forms part of a broader package of amendments in the Bill, which originated in the Senate and has now been passed by the National Assembly with further changes. The legislation is expected to return to the Senate for consideration of the National Assembly’s amendments before it can proceed toward presidential assent.
Other provisions in the Bill address voter register inspection, the role of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission in party primaries, the recall of Members of Parliament, and greater autonomy for political parties in preparing nomination lists.
The move comes less than a year before the August 2027 General Election and is likely to reshape post-election bargaining within political parties, as losing candidates gain a clearer legal avenue to remain in public office through nomination rather than facing an automatic exclusion from party lists. Nation
The National Assembly’s decision effectively implements the appellate court’s finding that the earlier restriction was inconsistent with constitutional provisions on party-list representation and special-interest seats.