Political parties and aspirants face a series of deadlines from October that will determine who participates in the August 10, 2027 General Election.
In a Gazette Notice dated August 20, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) set out a timetable requiring parties to complete key preparations months before the election.
The first major deadline is October 15, 2026, when parties intending to participate in the election must submit to IEBC the names and specimen signatures of their authorised officials.
Two weeks later, on October 30, parties must have their nomination rules certified by the Registrar of Political Parties.
They will then have until November 6 to submit the certified rules to IEBC.
The timetable sets another major deadline involving public fundraising.
From December 9, 2026, any candidate who directly or indirectly participates in a public fundraising or harambee within the eight months preceding the General Election will be disqualified from contesting.
The provision will affect politicians who routinely attend harambees and other public fundraising events as part of their grassroots activities ahead of elections.
However, the Gazette Notice does not prohibit fundraising by or on behalf of a person contesting an election, or fundraising for a political party.
The distinction means the restriction is specifically on a person’s participation in public fundraising or harambee, rather than a blanket ban on political fundraising.
The next major deadlines come in early 2027, when political parties must have their membership lists certified by the Registrar of Political Parties by March 23, 2027, and submit the certified lists to IEBC by April 12.
By April 8, parties intending to present candidates must also submit to IEBC the names of those contesting their primaries. This must be accompanied by the dates and venues of the nominations.
IEBC will then publish the names of primary contestants and details of the primaries in the Gazette by April 16.
Parties will have until May 8 to conduct their primaries and resolve intra-party disputes.
The same date is the deadline for parties using direct nominations or primaries to submit the names of their nominated candidates to IEBC.
Independent candidates have until May 8 to leave any registered political party and submit their names and symbols to IEBC.
Public officers intending to vie will have to resign by February 10, 2027, six months before polling day.
The Gazette Notice also sets additional requirements for the presidential race.
Presidential candidates must submit to IEBC a list containing the names, signatures and identification details of at least 2,000 registered voters in a majority of the counties by May 24, 2027.
The formal nomination of presidential candidates will take place between May 29 and June 11, 2027.
Any disputes arising from the nominations must be lodged with IEBC within 24 hours and, in any event, by June 12. IEBC is required to determine the disputes within 10 days, with hearings ending by June 23.
The campaign period will run from May 29 to August 7, 2027, with polling scheduled for August 10. Campaigning will be allowed between 7am and 6pm during the official campaign period.
Political parties and candidates will also have to submit the names of their national and constituency chief election agents by July 27, 2027.
The timetable means parties have less than eight months from the October deadline to complete the critical stages leading to the nomination of candidates.
Political parties seeking to build new political alliances or reorganise ahead of 2027 will have to declare their line-ups by October.
With the provision that parties intending to participate must have their nomination rules certified by October 30, 2026, coalition arrangements must be settled well before the nominations.
