Election Petitions: From 36 in 2007 to 446 in 2017 — A 1,138% Increase

In 2007, challenging an election was rare. By 2017, it was a national sport.

Here is one of the most underappreciated stories of Kenyan democracy. In the 2007 election, only 36 election petitions were filed in courts across the country. That means in an election with hundreds of contested seats, fewer than 40 losers decided to challenge the results legally.

By 2017, that number was 446. That is a 1,138% increase in just 10 years. Kenya went from a country where election challenges were rare to one where nearly every race could end up in court.

This is the story of how Kenyan elections moved from the streets to the courtrooms, and what it means for democracy.

The Numbers: Three Elections, Exponential Growth

The growth in election petitions is staggering:

• 2007: 36 petitions filed. Of these, 17 were dismissed, 17 were successful, and 2 were struck out.
• 2013: 188 petitions filed. 115 were dismissed, 24 were successful, 17 were withdrawn, and 31 were struck out.
• 2017: 446 petitions filed. 398 were dismissed, 35 were successful, and the remainder handled through other dispositions.

Think about what this means. In 2007, if you lost an election, you were unlikely to go to court. The cost was high, the chances of success were low, and the judicial system was not well equipped to handle election disputes. By 2017, filing a petition had become standard practice for losing candidates.

Why the Explosion?

Three major factors drove the surge in petitions.

First, the 2010 Constitution changed everything. The new constitution created a robust framework for election disputes. It established the Supreme Court as the final arbiter of presidential petitions and expanded the jurisdiction of lower courts for other positions. For the first time, candidates had clear legal pathways to challenge results.

Second, devolution multiplied the stakes. With the 2013 election came six positions to fight over: President, Governor, Senator, Member of Parliament, County Women Representative, and Member of County Assembly. More positions meant more races, which meant more potential disputes. The creation of 47 governor seats alone added a new layer of high-stakes contests that had never existed before.

Third, the courts showed they could deliver. When petitions succeeded — overturning governor races, MP seats, and even the 2017 presidential election — it encouraged more candidates to try their luck in court. Success breeds imitation.

The 2017 Breakdown by Position

The IEBC's post-election evaluation provides a detailed breakdown of the 2017 petitions by elective position. The data shows that county assembly races generated the most disputes, but governor petitions had the highest profile.

Here is the 2017 breakdown:

• Member of County Assembly: 139 petitions filed, 127 dismissed, 12 allowed (8.6% success rate)
• Member of National Assembly: 98 petitions filed, 91 dismissed, 7 allowed (7.1% success rate)
• Governor: 35 petitions filed, 32 dismissed, 3 allowed (8.6% success rate)
• Senator: 15 petitions filed, 15 dismissed, 0 allowed (0% success rate)
• County Women Member to NA: 12 petitions filed, 11 dismissed, 1 allowed (8.3% success rate)

The numbers add up to 299 petitions for these positions. The remaining petitions include the presidential petition and other cases that were consolidated or handled separately. The total across all positions reached 446.

The success rate is the key number. Across all positions in 2017, only 35 out of 446 petitions succeeded — a success rate of roughly 7.8%. In 2013, 24 out of 188 succeeded (12.8%). In 2007, 17 out of 36 succeeded (47.2%).

So while more petitions were being filed, fewer were succeeding as a percentage. The courts were flooded, and most cases were dismissed.

The Cost of Petitions

Election petitions are not cheap. A typical petition for an MP seat costs between Ksh 2-5 million in legal fees. Governor petitions can run to Ksh 10-20 million. The presidential petition in 2017, argued by teams of senior counsel, likely cost hundreds of millions in total.

For losing candidates, the calculation is simple: if there is even a 7-8% chance of overturning the result and winning a seat worth millions in salary and influence, the legal fees are a worthwhile investment.

As reported by the Daily Nation, some candidates have built election petitions into their campaign budgets from the start. Win or lose, the plan was always to go to court.

The Supreme Court Factor

Nothing supercharged the petition culture like the Supreme Court's nullification of the August 2017 presidential election. When the highest court in the land threw out a sitting president's victory, it sent a signal to every losing candidate in the country: the courts can overturn anything.

The 2022 election saw another presidential petition, which was dismissed. But the culture of litigation was already deeply embedded. Going forward, election petitions will remain a permanent feature of Kenyan democracy.

What This Means for 2027

If the trend holds, the 2027 election could see 500+ petitions filed. Courts at every level will need to be prepared. For candidates, this means one thing: documentation is everything. The ability to prove — or disprove — irregularities at the polling station level will determine who keeps their seat.

For more context on how elections have evolved, read four elections, four stories. And to understand the ballot-level issues that often trigger petitions, see our analysis of rejected ballots across elections.

Key Takeaways

1. Petitions grew 1,138% — from 36 (2007) to 188 (2013) to 446 (2017)
2. Success rates dropped — 47.2% (2007) to 12.8% (2013) to 7.8% (2017)
3. MCA races led in volume — 139 of 446 petitions in 2017 were for county assembly seats
4. Governor petitions had the highest profile — 35 filed in 2017, with 3 succeeding
5. The 2017 presidential nullification supercharged petition culture

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