The complete guide for parties and candidates to the 2027 electoral timelines

Introduction

When the Supreme Court of Kenya nullified the 2017 presidential election on 1^st September 2017 in an unprecedented decision, one paragraph in that decision stuck in many minds. In paragraph 224, the Court emphasized that elections are a process and not an event; they are not just about numbers.

It is no surprise, therefore, that many candidates and political parties have recently stepped up activities in support of their bids for various positions. The umpire, the IEBC, has also officially set in motion the electoral process leading to the 2027 elections. In this article we analyze the timelines sequentially, examining each mile marker, the law that informs it and what it means for candidates.

Authorized Persons and Party Nomination Rules

Firstly, the IEBC has declared that the general election, including the presidential election, will be held on 10^th August 2027. By paragraph (b) of Gazette Notice No. 13497, Vol. CXXVIII—No. 144 of 19^th August 2026, it set Thursday, 15^th October 2026 as the deadline for political parties to submit the names and specimen signatures of their authorized persons. These are the officials authorized to transact with the IEBC and the public on behalf of the party. No specific statutory provision prescribes this deadline. The notice is issued generally under Article 88(4) of the Constitution, which mandates the IEBC to conduct or supervise elections and referenda, and under the Elections Act, being the national legislation contemplated by Article 88(5).

Paragraph (c) of the same notice sets Friday, 30^th October 2026 as the deadline for parties intending to participate in the 2027 general election to have their nomination rules certified by the Registrar of Political Parties. This requirement finds strength in section 27 of the Elections Act, which requires parties to submit their nomination rules, certified by the Registrar, to the Commission at least six months before they nominate their candidates. An amendment to the rules takes effect only ninety days after it is submitted to the IEBC. Under section 27(2A), the Commission must review the rules within fourteen days of receipt to ensure they comply with the prescribed regulations and, where they do, issue the party with a certificate of compliance. If the rules are non-compliant, the Commission must allow the party fourteen days to amend them.

Although section 27 does not specify a separate timeline for certification by the Registrar and submission to the IEBC, the Commission has set Friday, 6^th November 2026 as the deadline for submitting the certified nomination rules (paragraph (d) of the notice). Parties therefore have seven days between certification and submission. The date also falls just over six months before the 8^th May 2027 deadline for party primaries, as section 27 requires.

Restrictions on Aspirants and Campaign Financing Accounts

Wednesday, 9^th December 2026 is the last day on which a person intending to contest in the 2027 election may participate in a public fundraiser or “harambee”, on pain of disqualification. This deadline flows from section 26 of the Elections Act, which bars such persons from participating in fundraisers within the eight months preceding a general election, unless it is the candidate’s own fundraiser for their campaign or for their political party.

Public officers who intend to contest in the election must resign from office by Wednesday, 10^th February 2027, in compliance with section 43(5) of the Elections Act, which requires resignation at least six months before the election. This requirement does not apply to incumbent elected officials, namely the President, the Deputy President, governors, deputy governors, Members of Parliament and members of county assemblies (section 43(6)).

Wednesday, 10^th February 2027 is also the deadline for parties and candidates to open, and submit the details of, their campaign financing accounts in accordance with section 6 of the Election Campaign Financing Act and regulation 4 of the Election Campaign Financing Regulations, 2026 (Legal Notice No. 142 of 2026). Note that for purposes of campaign expenditure, a candidate may act as their own authorized person, provided they notify the Commission using the prescribed forms.

Party Membership Lists and Party Primaries

The next important deadline is found in sections 28 and 28A of the Elections Act, which require political parties intending to participate in the election to have their party membership lists certified by the Registrar and submitted to the Commission at least 120 days before the date of the election. Paragraph (e) of the notice sets Tuesday, 23^rd March 2027 as the deadline for certification of the lists by the Registrar.

Thursday, 8^th April 2027 is an important deadline for candidates and political parties, being the deadline for parties to submit the names of persons participating in party primaries and the dates and venues of those primaries. Section 31(2B) requires parties to submit these names at least 21 days before the nominations, while section 31(2A) requires parties to submit the names of their candidates for the election to the Commission at least 60 days before the election.

Monday, 12^th April 2027, exactly 120 days before the election, is the deadline for parties to submit their certified party membership lists to the IEBC in compliance with section 28(1)(a) of the Elections Act.

By Friday, 16^th April 2027, the Commission is required to gazette the dates of party primaries and the names of contestants under section 31(2C) of the Elections Act.

Saturday, 8^th May 2027, which is at least 90 days before the election, is the deadline for several activities:

(i)             Conducting party primaries, which goes hand in hand with resolving intra-party disputes, mostly arising from the primaries. See sections 13(1) and 13(2A) of the Elections Act and section 38I of the Political Parties Act;

(ii)            Parties to submit to the IEBC the names of persons nominated, whether by direct nomination or through primaries, to contest the various positions. See sections 13(1) and 31(2A) of the Elections Act;

(iii)          Independent candidates to have ceased to be members of any political party, since Article 85(a) of the Constitution and section 33(1)(a) of the Elections Act require that they have not been members for at least three months before the election; and

(iv)         Independent candidates to submit the name and symbol they intend to use, under sections 33(1)(c) and 32(1) of the Elections Act.

Independent Candidates and Presidential Supporters

The IEBC gazettes the names and symbols of independent candidates at least 14 days before the nomination day. Paragraph (m) of the notice sets this deadline at Friday, 14^th May 2027.

Monday, 24^th May 2027 is a big day for presidential aspirants, as it is their deadline to deliver the names and signatures of at least 2,000 registered voters from each of a majority of the counties, that is, at least 24 counties. This is a constitutional requirement under Article 137(1)(d), and regulation 18(1) of the Elections (General) Regulations, 2012 requires the list to be delivered at least five days before the nomination day.

IEBC Nominations and the Campaign Period

The IEBC nomination period opens on Saturday, 29^th May 2027 and closes on Friday, 11^th June 2027. Presidential candidates may be nominated on any day within that period. Gazette Notices Nos. 13498 to 13502 set the nomination days for the other positions as follows:

(a) National Assembly – 29^th May to 1^st June

(b) Governors – 3^rd to 6^th June

(c) Senators – 29^th May to 2^nd June

(d) County Woman Members – 7^th to 11^th June

(e) Members of County Assembly – 2^nd June to 11^th June

All the above dates fall in 2027 and must be at least 60 days before the election under sections 2 (which defines "nomination day"), 14(1), 16(1), 17(1) and 19(1) of the Elections Act.

The campaign period opens officially on Saturday, 29^th May 2027, with campaign hours fixed at 7.00 am to 6.00 pm by paragraphs (s) and (t) of the notice. Section 2 of the Elections Act defines the "campaign period" as the period specified in the IEBC notice.

Saturday, 29^th May 2027 is also the deadline for parties and candidates to submit the names of the authorized persons for their campaign financing accounts and of their expenditure committee members, in line with sections 6 to 8 of the Election Campaign Financing Act.

Section 10(1)(a) of the Election Campaign Financing Act requires party candidates to submit a preliminary nomination expenditure report within 21 days of the party nominations. The notice sets Tuesday, 8^th June 2027 as the deadline for these reports.

Nomination Disputes

Saturday, 12^th June 2027 is the last day for parties and candidates to lodge disputes arising from the IEBC nominations held between 29^th May and 11^th June. Section 74(1) of the Elections Act and rule 8(1) of the Rules of Procedure on Settlement of Disputes, 2012 require such disputes to be lodged within 24 hours of the dispute arising.

The IEBC must determine nomination disputes within ten days of their lodging, and the notice sets Wednesday, 23^rd June 2027 as the deadline (Article 88(4)(e) of the Constitution as read with section 74(2) of the Elections Act).

Party Lists and Chief Agents

By Friday, 25^th June 2027, parties must submit their party lists, that is, the persons the party would nominate to the special seats in the National Assembly, the Senate and the county assemblies were it to win every available slot, listed in order of preference and alternating between male and female candidates (save for the Senate seats reserved for women). For county assemblies, the lists come in two categories: the gender top-up and the marginalized categories. Article 90 of the Constitution and section 35 of the Elections Act are the governing law, and the lists must be submitted at least 45 days before the election.

On Tuesday, 27^th July 2027, at least 14 days before the election, parties and candidates submit the names of their chief agents to the IEBC under regulation 57 of the Elections (General) Regulations, 2012.

Close of Campaigns and Polling Day

The campaign period closes on Saturday, 7^th August 2027, so that campaigning ends at least 48 hours before polling day.

Finally, on Tuesday, 10^th August 2027, the general election is held. The underpinning law is Articles 101(1), 136(2)(a), 177(1)(a) and 180(1) of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010, which fix the election on the second Tuesday in August in every fifth year. Polling runs from 6.00 am to 5.00 pm, with reasonable allowance for extension where polling is disrupted or starts late. Every person on the queue at the close of polling must be allowed to vote (regulations 64 and 66 of the Elections (General) Regulations, 2012).

The Presidential Election: Declaration, Petitions and Swearing In

Within seven days after the election, that is, on or before Tuesday, 17^th August 2027, the IEBC must declare the result of the presidential election under Article 138(10) of the Constitution.

Within seven days of that declaration, any person who disputes the presidential result may file a petition in the Supreme Court under Article 140(1) of the Constitution and rule 6 of the Supreme Court (Presidential Election Petition) Rules, 2017. The petition must be filed before 2.00 pm on the last day.

The Supreme Court must hear and determine the petition within 14 days of its filing, as required by Article 140(2) of the Constitution. If the Court invalidates the election, a fresh election is held within 60 days of its decision under Article 140(3) and section 86A of the Elections Act.

If no presidential candidate meets the threshold in Article 138(4), namely more than half of all the votes cast and at least 25% of the votes cast in each of more than half of the counties (at least 24 counties), a run-off between the two leading candidates is held within 30 days of the election under Article 138(5).

The President-elect is sworn in under Article 141(2) on the first Tuesday following the fourteenth day after the declaration of results where no petition is filed, or on the first Tuesday following the seventh day after the Supreme Court upholds the election. The swearing in is held in public before the Chief Justice (or, in the Chief Justice’s absence, the Deputy Chief Justice) between 10.00 am and 2.00 pm (Article 141(1) of the Constitution and the Assumption of the Office of President Act, 2012).

Petitions in Other Elections and Party List Representatives

Petitions challenging the other elections must be filed within 28 days of the declaration of results (Article 87(2) of the Constitution), served within 15 days of filing, and secured by a deposit for costs within 10 days of filing (sections 76 to 78 of the Elections Act). The gazetted election courts then have six months from lodging to determine them. A party aggrieved by the judgment of an election court may appeal, on matters of law only, within 30 days of the judgment, and the appellate court must determine the appeal within six months of its filing.

After the declaration of the results, the IEBC designates party list representatives within 30 days.

Summary of Timelines

See the tables below for summarized guidance.

2027 GENERAL ELECTION: TIMELINES AND THEIR LEGAL SOURCE

Gazetted timelines to polling day and campaign finance reporting

Post-election timelines fixed by the Constitution and statute

About the Author

Eric Muriuki is a constitutional and electoral law expert and the founding partner of MKA Law LLP, a full-service law firm based in Nairobi. He has successfully conducted various constitutional disputes, including election petitions and impeachment proceedings. Contact him today through muriuki@mkalawllp.com for further consultations.