How Jhanda’s Proposal Could Reshape Party-List Nominations

By Suleiman Mbatiah

Kenya’s electoral system could face a major procedural change if a proposal to conduct party-list nominations after the General Election is adopted, allowing election results to come before the selection of nominees for special seats.

Nyaribari Chache MP Zaheer Jhanda says voters should determine the electoral outcome first, after which political parties would nominate candidates for the party-list seats allocated to them.

The proposal would reverse the current sequence in which political parties submit their party lists before the election. Under Article 90 of the Constitution, party-list seats in the National Assembly, Senate and county assemblies are allocated through proportional representation, with the allocation based on the total number of seats won by candidates from each party in the General Election.

Under the current system, parties are required to prepare and submit lists of people who would stand elected if the party secured all the party-list seats available. The Elections Act requires these lists to be submitted to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission on the same day designated for submission of nominations for other candidates, before the General Election.

Jhanda is proposing that this sequence be changed so that parties first participate in the General Election, after which the results would determine the number of party-list seats allocated to each party before the respective parties submit their nominees.

“The principle is simple: Let Kenyans vote first. Let the electoral outcome determine the allocation of seats. Then let the corresponding party-list nominations follow that outcome,” he suggested.

The change would therefore separate the nomination of party-list candidates from the pre-election nomination timetable. Under the existing law, party lists are submitted in order of priority and are generally not amended during the term of Parliament or the relevant county assembly.

The Constitution also requires party lists to meet specific requirements. Except for the specified Senate seats, lists must alternate between male and female candidates in the priority in which they are listed, while, for parliamentary lists, they must also reflect Kenya’s regional and ethnic diversity.

Jhanda’s proposal would retain those constitutional and legal safeguards but move the point at which the nominees are selected and formally submitted. He said the proposed system was intended to establish a closer connection between the party-list process and the electoral outcome.

“This proposal is intended to make the process more directly connected to the actual electoral outcome, while maintaining constitutional safeguards, transparency, fairness and the principle of proportional representation,” he explained.

The proposal would also change the role of election results in the timing of party-list nominations. At present, the results determine how many special seats each party receives after the parties have already submitted their lists. Under Jhanda’s proposal, the results would be known before the parties selected and submitted the nominees for the seats allocated to them.

For example, a party participating in the General Election currently submits a list containing enough candidates to cover the relevant party-list seats before voting. Once the election is concluded, the seats are distributed among parties in proportion to the number of constituency or other directly elected seats won by each party.

Jhanda wants that order reversed. His proposal would require parties to wait for the declaration of election results and the determination of their party-list entitlement before submitting the names of people who would occupy those seats.

“I am proposing a straightforward reform to the timing of party-list nominations for Members of Parliament, Senators and County Assembly representatives,” he suggested.

The proposal would affect party-list seats provided for under Articles 97(1)(c) and 98(1)(b), (c) and (d) of the Constitution, as well as the special seats provided for county assemblies under Article 177(1)(b) and (c). These positions are filled through proportional representation using party lists.

Jhanda, a member of Parliament’s Transport and Infrastructure Committee and Regional Integration Committee, said the proposal should be subjected to public and legislative debate.

“I believe this is an important issue that deserves serious public and legislative debate,” he appealed.

If pursued, the proposal would require changes to the existing statutory framework governing the timing and submission of party lists. The Constitution sets the framework for proportional representation and requires parties to submit their lists within timelines prescribed by national legislation, while the Elections Act currently places submission before the General Election.