Who shall we be electing?

As we get ready for elections, do we know how many elective positions we will vote for and what are the roles of each office? And what our responsibilities and rights are under the new system? This are the questions the next few posts will look at. To start with there are only two levels of government established in the constitution: The National and The County (This are 47 geographical units as established in schedule 1).

The two levels are distinct but not independent of each other. They are distinct because they have their structures of operation and can make laws within their areas, but they are not independent as of each other as they have to share resources and are guided by the same national constitution. The independence is actually a factor of functions and resources.

At the National level there shall be elected:-
(a) The President together with the deputy president (this shall be the running mate during elections);
(b) The Senator to represent each county in the Senate;
(c) The Member of Parliament to represent each constituency in the National Assembly;
(d) The woman county representative to the National Assembly

At the County Level there shall be elected:-
(a) The Governor together with the deputy governor as the running mate in the elections;
(b) The County Assembly Representative from each ward in the county

This persons shall form the Executive and Legislative arms of the respective units of government.

In the next post we look at the County Assembly Representative, the role assigned to them and what should be our right and responsibility in working with them.

In Service to God and My Country
ARMS

Source: Republic of Kenya, 2010. Constitution of Kenya as promulgated on 27 August 2010. Available at http://www.kenyalaw.org/klr/fileadmin/pdfdownloads/Acts/ConstitutionofKenya2010.pdf