Politics of Kenya - Executive Branch

Executive Branch

The president is elected for a five-year term by the people. As of the 2012 general election, the Constitution of Kenya has two requirements for any candidate to be declared winner:

• to garner an absolute majority of votes among all contestants nationwide.
• to win at least 25% of the vote in a majority of Kenya's forty seven counties

If none of the candidates fulfils these requirements there is to be a runoff between the two contenders with the highest number of votes. The vice president will be the running mate of the candidate that wins the presidential election whilst other cabinet members will be appointed, with approval from the National Assembly, from outside Parliament. Under the power sharing agreement, set to lapse at the 2012 general election, signed by President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga of the Orange Democratic Movement, the post of prime minister was constitutionally created and ministers appointed to reflect political parties' relative strength in the National Assembly. The Raila Odinga led party, the Orange Democratic Movement is currently the largest party in Kenya's parliament. Under the power-sharing agreement, each of the two major parties also nominated a deputy prime minister.