Civil society push to curb presidential powers during elections

President William Ruto could temporarily lose executive authority during election periods if a proposed constitutional amendment by civil society group Kuna Dawa succeeds.

 The reform seeks to amend the Constitution of Kenya 2010 to transfer executive powers from the sitting president to the Chief Justice during the electioneering period. Under the proposal, the Chief Justice would serve as Interim President until the swearing-in of the President-elect.

 According to the draft, the move aims to safeguard electoral integrity by shielding the process from executive interference and boosting public confidence.

 “Upon the official commencement of the presidential election campaign period as declared by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, the sitting President shall temporarily vacate the executive authority of the office,” reads the Kuna Dawa constitutional reform draft.

 But the proposal has drawn sharp criticism from political analysts, who argue it is impractical and constitutionally flawed.

 Political analyst Charles Munyui dismissed it as “an effort in futility,” adding: “It is confusing to have a referendum right now.”

 He warned that repeated attempts to amend the Constitution could disproportionately empower the judiciary.

 “You cannot absolve the President of duties during elections. I think these proposals are made out of assumption that the president performs unilaterally,” Munyui said.

 He added that the Constitution clearly separates powers among the arms of government.

 “You cannot give executive power to another arm of government. It is defective to give executive authorities to other arms of government.”

 Beyond executive authority, the draft bill proposes sweeping changes to Kenya’s governance structure.

 It seeks to cut the number of Members of Parliament to 188 elected and 12 nominated, while retaining 47 elected senators. The reforms would shrink Parliament from the current 421 members across both houses to 235.

 Under the proposal, each county would have five elected representatives: a senator, two MPs (rural and urban), a woman representative, and a youth representative. This would effectively dissolve the current 290 constituencies.

 The draft also proposes devolving presidential tallying centres to the ward level to eliminate duplication and competition between national and county governments.

 “By separating development administration from the legislature, Parliament will regain its independence to legislate, provide oversight, and represent the people without undue influence,” the Kuna Dawa draft states.

 Munyui, however, questioned the political feasibility of reducing constituencies.

 “Which member of parliament would allow their constituencies to be wound up?” he posed, noting the bill must still pass through legislative approval.

 The proposals further seek to restructure economic governance by removing the National Treasury from direct control of the national government and placing it under a new National Executive Council (NEC)—an intergovernmental body.

 The NEC would oversee national development priorities, fiscal policy, and budget alignment. It would also manage a restructured National Development Budget, allocating 20 per cent to flagship national projects and 80 per cent to County Economic Blocks.

 “NEC shall oversee the alignment of national budgetary priorities with national development plans, and exercise strategic oversight over public finance management at the national level,” the document proposes.

 Under the reforms, the Principal Secretary for the National Treasury would be appointed by the President on the recommendation of the Public Service Commission and with approval from the NEC.

 The bill also introduces the positions of Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister. The deputy prime minister would be required to have a background in finance and economics and serve as Cabinet Secretary for National Treasury and Planning.

 Other proposals include merging the Office of the Auditor-General with the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission into a single independent constitutional body, and scrapping public funding for political parties.

 The draft sets campaign spending ceilings at Sh500 million for presidential candidates, Sh20 million for governors and MPs, Sh20 million for proposed Independent House Members, and Sh5 million for Members of County Assembly, subject to periodic review by Parliament.

 It also designates Narok and Kajiado as protected counties, reserving gubernatorial and senatorial seats for indigenous communities to safeguard cultural and political rights.

 The proposed amendment, introduced under Article 257 of the Constitution, further outlines the creation of County Economic Blocks, a Ward Development Fund, and the Office of the Leader of Opposition, while restructuring Nairobi County governance.

 It also proposes mechanisms to resolve executive deadlocks between a President and Deputy President, or a Governor and Deputy Governor, and calls for the reconstitution of the Kenya National Human Rights Commission.

 Additionally, the bill seeks to devolve security coordination to county governments, placing county security structures under governors and removing supervisory roles from County Commissioners.

 Kuna Dawa Initiative chairperson Charles Gichuru said the reforms aim to modernise governance and strengthen service delivery. 

The movement is now calling for public participation, urging citizens, civil society, professionals, and political leaders to engage in the Article 257 popular initiative process and national consultations.