Thirty-seven provisionally registered political parties in Kenya have days left to complete their full registration before a deadline around 11 November, or they will be unable to take part in the country's General Election on 10 August 2027, the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties says.

Assistant Registrar of Political Parties Agatha Wahome said 99 parties were already fully registered and eligible to take part in the election, while the 37 provisional parties were at different stages of completing the requirements. She warned that time was running out for those still working through the process.

"There are those that are in the process of registration, and for any party that has not yet been given full registration certificate, then we are on the last days," Wahome said. "I think the date should be around 11th of November thereabout. They need to be fully registered because the timelines for IEBC are already ticking."

Some of the 37 parties are undergoing final verification of their offices, a process that will determine whether they meet the requirements for full registration. Wahome said she could not predict how many would eventually succeed. "Some of them will go through, and some of them may not go through," she said.

What full registration requires

Registration in Kenya is conducted in two broad stages, provisional and full. An applicant first reserves a party name, abbreviation, colours and slogan, with the reservation valid for a maximum of 90 days, within which the applicant must apply for provisional registration. Applicants must also prepare a party constitution, nomination rules and ideology, and hold a founding meeting involving at least three members while observing the two-thirds gender principle.

A provisional registration certificate is valid for 270 days, during which the party must complete the requirements for full registration. These include establishing a website, recruiting at least 1,000 registered voters in each of at least 24 counties, and maintaining gender and special-interest-group representation. A party must also establish a head office and branch offices in at least half of Kenya's 47 counties.

The registrar then verifies membership through integration with the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission and physically verifies the offices before issuing a full registration certificate. "It's a process that takes time, and once now you have the full registration certificate, you can now go ahead," Wahome said.

Preparations for nominations under way

The registrar's office is also preparing parties for the next stages of the electoral process, including the submission of nomination rules and party primaries. Wahome said the office is training internal dispute resolution committees and elections boards ahead of party nominations, while political party agents will also be trained later.

Registrar of Political Parties John Cox Lorionokou said on 3 November that the number of registered parties had risen from 91 when he took office to 107, with 16 registered in the past year. He defended the independence of his office amid concerns about delays in registering parties, saying no application had been intentionally delayed beyond what the law requires.

The Office of the Registrar of Political Parties has also agreed with religious leaders and the National Peace and Mediation Team to work together to prevent disputes during party nominations, which have historically been among the earliest and most volatile flashpoints of the electoral cycle. The parties will develop a memorandum of understanding, use respected religious leaders to mediate disputes between rival aspirants, and encourage parties to run nominations that are free, fair and transparent. Parties are finalising their election and nomination rules ahead of the 8 May 2027 deadline for concluding party primaries.