Women Representatives: How Jubilee Dominated the 47 County Women Rep Seats

Only 10 parties managed to win a Women Representative seat in 2017. That is the single most striking fact about the county Women Representative race, a position created by Kenya's 2010 Constitution to boost female representation in the National Assembly.

With 47 counties, there were exactly 47 seats up for grabs. Jubilee Party claimed more than half of them, winning 25 seats and establishing dominance across Central Kenya, the Rift Valley, and parts of Eastern and North Eastern provinces.

The Big Two: Jubilee and ODM

Between them, Jubilee (25 seats) and the Orange Democratic Movement (11 seats) accounted for 36 of the 47 Women Representative positions, or 76.6% of the total. This mirrored the broader two-coalition dynamic that defined the 2017 election, where the Jubilee Alliance and NASA (National Super Alliance) split the country along familiar ethnic and regional lines.

ODM's 11 seats came largely from its Nyanza, Coast, and Western Kenya strongholds. The party's Women Representatives were elected in counties like Siaya, Kisumu, Homa Bay, Migori, Mombasa, Kilifi, and Kakamega, places where Raila Odinga's influence translated into down-ballot victories.

The Supporting Cast: 8 Other Parties

Beyond the big two, only 8 other parties managed to break through:

• Wiper Democratic Movement (3 seats) — The party of Kalonzo Musyoka won in its Ukambani backyard, picking up Women Representative seats in Kitui, Machakos, and Makueni counties.
• Kenya African National Union (2 seats) — KANU, once the ruling party for nearly four decades, secured just 2 Women Representative positions.
• Amani National Congress (1 seat) — Musalia Mudavadi's party captured one seat in its Western Kenya base.
• Economic Freedom Party (1 seat) — A smaller party that made its mark in one county.
• Forum for Restoration of Democracy-Kenya (1 seat) — Moses Wetangula's FORD-Kenya took one seat.
• Maendeleo Chap Chap Party (1 seat) — Alfred Mutua's Machakos-based party won one Women Rep seat.
• Party for Development and Reform (1 seat) — A minor party that found success in one county.
• Independent (1 seat) — Only one independent candidate managed to win a Women Representative seat across the entire country.

What the Numbers Reveal About Party Strength

The Women Representative race is a useful proxy for understanding party strength at the county level. Unlike the MP race, where local personalities and clan dynamics play a major role, or the Governor race where deep pockets matter, the Women Rep contest is fought across an entire county. It is a pure test of party brand.

Jubilee's 25-seat haul covered counties from Kiambu (Central) to Garissa (North Eastern), from Nakuru (Rift Valley) to Meru (Eastern). The party's geographic breadth was unmatched. ODM, by contrast, was concentrated in the opposition strongholds of Nyanza, Western, and Coast.

The near-total shutout of smaller parties is also significant. Of the roughly 50+ political parties that fielded Women Representative candidates in 2017, more than 40 came away empty-handed. The Women Rep seat, because it covers an entire county, tends to reward parties with strong organizational structures and broad appeal rather than local personalities.

Gender Representation in Context

The 47 Women Representatives were part of a broader effort to meet the constitutional two-thirds gender rule in Parliament. Under Article 81(b) of the 2010 Constitution, no more than two-thirds of elected members of any body shall be of the same gender. Despite the creation of these seats, Kenya has repeatedly failed to meet this threshold.

In 2017, 23 women were elected as constituency MPs, plus the 47 Women Representatives, bringing the total female presence in the National Assembly to 70 out of 349 members (including nominated members). This remained well below the one-third benchmark.

The IEBC's post-election report noted the ongoing challenge of achieving gender parity, particularly in the constituency MP and Senate races where women candidates face steeper hurdles.

What This Means for Future Elections

The 2017 Women Representative results confirm a pattern: this seat is won or lost on party strength, not individual candidate appeal. Jubilee's dominance reflected the party's grip on Central Kenya, Rift Valley, and significant parts of Eastern and North Eastern Kenya. ODM's 11 seats mapped directly onto the NASA coalition's strongholds.

For 2022 and beyond, the lesson is clear. Any party hoping to win Women Representative seats needs a genuine county-level organization. The 37+ parties that fielded candidates but won nothing learned that lesson the hard way.

The Women Representative position, despite its intended focus on gender equity, has become yet another arena for Kenya's big-party politics. Whether that changes in future elections depends on whether smaller parties can build the kind of grassroots infrastructure that Jubilee and ODM have maintained.

For a complete breakdown of all 2017 results across all six elective positions, see our analysis of Jubilee vs ODM: The Full 2017 Party Scorecard and How Many Parties Does Kenya Really Need?