Requirements for running for President as an independent candidate

The Registrar of Political Parties Ann Nderitu has confirmed that so far, 47 individuals have been cleared to contest for the presidency as independent candidates in the August General Election.

According to Nderitu, there is an overall upsurge in the number of independent candidates in this year’s polls, with 7,111 candidates expected to contest for various seats come August 9.

The presidential candidates are working with a May 16 deadline by which they should have submitted their names and running mates to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).

They also have until Monday, May 2, to submit a clearance certificate from the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties (ORPP), as well as the symbols they want to use.

But what does it take to contest for the president (and the deputy president)’s seat independently?

To qualify to run for the country’s top seat, according to the IEBC, one must firstly be a Kenyan citizen by birth who does not owe allegiance to a foreign state. 

They also must not hold dual citizenship, says the commission on its website, “unless citizenship of the other country has been obtained by operation of law without capacity to opt out.”

Additionally, an individual must be qualified to stand for election as a Member of Parliament and they must not, at the time of expressing interest in the presidency, be a public officer or acting in any State of public office.

This is, however, with the exception of a sitting president, deputy president or any of the members of parliament.

They must also not be undischarged bankrupt. This refers to someone who is legally bankrupt but who still has to pay back particular debts.

Furthermore, the aspiring president must submit to the IEBC an electronic and printed copy of not fewer than 2000 voters from each of the majority of the counties in the commission’s prescribed form.

A nomination fee of Ksh.200,000 (Ksh.100,000 for youth, a woman or a person with a disability) is required to be paid to the commission.

The candidate further needs to present a clearance certificate from the ORPP certifying that they were not a member of any political party for the last 3 months before the elections.

A symbol the candidate intends to use during the election must also be approved by the IEBC 21 days before the nomination day.

The candidate must also set up and run an office which is subject to investigation by the commission.