Article 101. Election of members of Parliament
Official Constitutional Text
101. (1) A general election of members of Parliament shall be held on the second Tuesday in August in every fifth year.
(2) Whenever a vacancy occurs in the office of a member of the National Assembly under Article 97 (1) (c), or of the Senate under Article 98 (1) (b), (c) or (d), the respective Speaker shall, within twenty-one days of the occurrence of the vacancy, give notice in writing of the vacancy to—
(a) the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission; and
(b) the political party on whose party list the member was elected or nominated.
(3) A vacancy referred to in clause (2) shall, subject to clause (5), be filled in the manner prescribed by an Act of Parliament within twenty-one days of the notification by the respective Speaker.
(4) Whenever a vacancy occurs in the office of a member of the National Assembly elected under Article 97 (1) (a) or (b), or of the Senate elected under Article 98 (1) (a)—
(a) the respective Speaker shall, within twenty-one days after the occurrence of the vacancy, give notice in writing of the vacancy to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission; and
(b) a by-election shall be held within ninety days of the occurrence of the vacancy, subject to clause (5).
(5) A vacancy referred to in clause (4) shall not be filled within the three months immediately before a general election.
Plain English Explanation
This is a simplified summary to explain this article in clear language. It is not the legal text of the Constitution.
Article 101 of the Kenyan Constitution establishes the timeline for general elections and details the exact procedures for filling vacant parliamentary seats. It fixes the date of a general election to the second Tuesday in August in every fifth year. When a vacancy occurs among special nominated members in either house, the respective Speaker has 21 days to notify both the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) and the affected political party, which must then fill the seat using its existing party list within 21 days. For vacancies involving directly elected constituency members, county women representatives, or county senators, the Speaker must notify the IEBC within 21 days, triggering a mandatory by-election within 90 days of the vacancy. However, the article includes a strict cut-off rule stating that no by-election can be held if the vacancy occurs within the final three months leading up to a general election.