Constituencies of Kenya

Constituencies were introduced to Kenya during the colonial era. The first general election was held in 1920 in the then East Africa Protectorate, with 11 constituencies. Between 1920 and 1956, the number of constituencies rose from 11 to 28. In 1962, prior to independence the following year, the Royal Commission was tasked to create 100 constituencies. The independence Constitution of Kenya provided that for purposes of representation in the House of Representatives, the constituencies should be between 110 and 130. The Royal Commission drew 117 constituencies across the 40 districts and Nairobi region.^[1][2]

The number of constituencies increased from 117 at independence to 290 in 2013. There have been four major constituency delineations since independence: in 1966, 1986, 1996 and 2012. In 1966, the number rose from 117 to 158, to accommodate senators from the abolished Senate of Kenya. At this point the House of Representatives was renamed National Assembly. In 1986, an act of parliament allowed the number of constituencies to be increased from 158 to 188. The constituencies were effected during the 1988 Kenyan general election. In 1996, the number of constituencies was increased from 188 to 210.^[3] The number remained the same until the 2010 Constitution of Kenya increased the number of constituencies to 290, which based on a formula where these constituencies were to be delineated based on population numbers.

Each constituency returns one Member of Parliament. The constitution mandates that the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) conduct a boundary review at a minimum of eight years and a maximum of twelve years. Since the last boundaries review was conducted in March 2012, by August 2024, long after the 12-year deadline, no review has been conducted. This is attributed to the fact that there is no functioning IEBC, since most of all commissioners either resigned or retired at some point between 2022 and 2023.^[4]