FAQs

The ORPP is a State Office established within the meaning of Article 260 of the constitution of Kenya 2010 and Section 33 of the Political Parties Act 2011. Its mandate is to register, regulate, monitor political parties and administer Political Parties fund. The Office is headed by the Registrar of Political Parties and deputized by three Assistant Registrars. It has highly skilled and experienced human capital that assists the Registrar in discharge of Office functions. Further in undertaking its role, the Office cooperates with other state and non-state stakeholders.

The Political Parties Act, 2011 (PPA2011) read together with Political Parties (Registration) Regulations, 2019 provides for the  requirements and conditions for registration of political parties. The registration is in two steps:

• Provisional registration. Applicants are required to: 
  •Name Search: Name, symbol and colour. 
  •Provide Party Constitution. 
  •Submit Minutes of the founding members. 
  •Sign Code of Conduct. 
  •Submit written application filed in the prescribed form.
  •Pay prescribed fee (Ksh. 100,000.00) payable in prescribed mode of payment.
• Full registration Requirements: 
  •Recruit 1000 voters as members in at least 24 counties who should reflect regional and ethnic diversity, gender balance, and representation of special interest groups including minorities and marginalized.
  •Composition of the Governing body reflect regional and ethnic diversity, gender balance, and representation of special interest groups including minorities and marginalized.
• Members of governing body demonstrate to meet requirements of Chapter 6 of the Constitution of Kenya; Integrity test in accordance with the Leadership and Integrity Act, 2012.;
• Submit to Registrar in prescribed format; List of names address and identification particulars of all its members •Location and address of Head Office and branch offices at least 24 county offices •An undertaking to be bound by Code of conduct for political parties.
• •Prescribed fee (Ksh. 500,000.00) in payable in prescribed mode of payment

The fees payable to the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties:

1. Search fee – Kshs. 500.00
2. Provisional registration – Kshs. 100,000.00
3. Full registration – Kshs. 500,000.00

As at February 2021, there were seventy two (72) fully registered Political Parties.Provisionally registered political parties varies from time to time due to progress made towards full registration. 

Send a complaint e-mail or letter with a copy of National Identification/Passport attached to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or deliver it to Office of the Registrar of Political Parties at Lion Place Waiyaki Way, 1st floor/4th floor or any of our county offices listed on www.orpp.or.ke. Upon consideration, the Registrar will expunge your details from the membership register.

Submit a written notice, resignation email or letter to the party with which you are registered, and submit a copy of the letter, attached with a copy of National ID/ Passport to the Office of Registrar of Political Parties (HQ or any County Office) or scan and e-mail to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Upon consideration, the Registrar will expunge your details from the membership register.

No. A person can only be a member of one political party. Once a person’s name has been entered into the membership register of a political party, the person becomes a member of that party until such a time when the name is removed and entered into the register of another political party after due legal process.

1. Voluntary resignation – by giving a resignation letter to the party and/or Registrar.
2. Expulsion – through the established party mechanisms.
3. Deeming – where a member acts in a manner that suggests he is in or supporting another political party, apart from a party that is in the same coalition.
4. Natural attrition – when a person dies they automatically cease to be a member of a party.

Integrated Political Parties Management System (IPPMS) is a web-based system, internally developed by ORPP. It contains helps manage and maintain a secure data base of political parties’ records. Authorized users from political parties are able to ‘self-serve’ through IPPMS in managing and submitting membership records to the Registrar. It modules include: political parties membership search and resignations; bulk upload of membership data; management of political parties assets and officials; political parties register (list of fully registered political and their particulars) among others.

A political party shall maintain accurate and authentic records at its head office and county offices in a prescribed format. These records include register of its members; copy of constitution; management and administrative policies and plans; latest audited books of accounts; assets and liability inventory among other records as stipulated in Section 17 of PPA.The records should be accessible by (may be at prescribed fee) their members. Registrar may from time to time cause for inspection of political parties records through procedure spelt out under section 18 of PPA. 

When applicants want to register a political party, the name chosen must not be:

1. Obscene or offensive;
2. Excessively long;
3. Is the name, or is an abbreviation of another political party that is already registered;
4. Nearly resembles the name, or an abbreviation of the name of another political party already registered or any other legal entity registered under other law.

Once a political party has received a certificate of full registration it attains a corporate status to operate as a corporate body. The party is obliged to:

• Field candidates for general elections within election timelines and election codes as set out by the Indipendent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC). If a party fails to field a candidate for two consecutive general elections, it shall be deemed deregistered.
• Submit written declaration of its assests and liabilities within 60 days from the date of full registration. 

No. A provisionally registered political party is prohibited from participating in any election including fielding candidates, campaigning for or against any candidate or holding any public meetings.

A member of a political party can stand for election as an independent candidate after submitting a resignation letter to the party and/or Registrar. The Constitution provides that a person can stand as an independent candidate if he/she is not a member of any political party three months before the Election Day.

In general, a merger means where two or more political parties consolidate their operations and become one political party. The Political Parties Act, 2011 provides for the merging of political parties where the parties dissolve and a new party is formed.

The PPA provides that where political parties intend to merge they deposit with the Registrar of Political Parties the following documents:

1. the merger agreement
2. documentation showing that the rules and procedure of the merging political parties have been followed
3. minutes of the meeting of the governing bodies of the merging political parties sanctioning the merger.

The political party then receives a letter of confirmation from the Registrar and a certificate of full registration is issued.
The merged parties are then deregistered and their registers, assets and liabilities are transferred to the new party.

An alliance of two or more parties formed for purposes of pursuing a common goal. There are two types of coalitions;a) Pre-election coalitionsb) Post election coalitionsCoalition differs from mergers in that, in a coalition, political parties despite formation of their cooperation, they retain indipendent legal identities defined in their own leadership, constitutions, and members among other corporate identifiers. In a merger, parties amalgamate into a single party.

A political party intending to change or ammend (its constitution; rules and regulations;title; name or address; physiscal location of head office or county name; symbol or slogan; physical address must make written submission in prescribed format to the Registrar of Political Parties for the intended changes within stipulated timelines. (Section 20 of PPA).

Political parties have established Internal Dispute Resolution Mechanisms (IDRMs) within their own structures. This is often found in their party constitutions and/or nomination rules. The political parties therefore, begin the process of dispute resolution within these established internal mechanisms.
Where a dispute has not been resolved internally, the political party or their members have various options available to them. These are:

1. The Political Parties Disputes Tribunal
2. The High Court

The Political Parties Disputes Tribunal (PPDT) is a judicial body established under the Political Parties Act. The Tribunal has the mandate of hearing:

1. Disputes between members of a political party;
2. Disputes between a member of a political party and a political party;
3. Disputes between political parties;
4. Disputes between an independent candidate and a political party;
5. Disputes between coalition partners; and
6. Appeals from decisions of the Registrar.

The Political Parties Act establishes the Political Parties Liaison Committee (PPLC) at the national and county level. It is made up of the Registrar of Political Parties, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission and all fully registered political parties. Its role is to provide a platform for dialogue between the Registrar, IEBC and political parties.

Political parties should get its funds from lawful sources. The sources include: membership fees, voluntary contributions, donations/bequests/lawful grants, proceeds of investments.A political paty shall disclose to the Registrar full particulars of all funds or other sources of its funds.Political parties that meet the threshold provided under Sec 25(2) of the PPA 2011 are eligible for funding for the political parties fund.  They also get their funding from donations, membership contributions and other lawful sources.

Party officials are the governing officials of political parties. The criteria for electing officials is set out in the respective  party constitution and/or rules in accordance with the second schedule of the PPA.

The PPA provides that a party must maintain functional branch offices in at least 24 counties that must mirror the head office.