Kenya’s new election campaign financing regulations, designed to tighten controls on political donations and campaign spending, have come under scrutiny from lawmakers who raised concerns about expenditure limits, population-based allocations and public participation.
The National Assembly Delegated Legislation Committee, led by MP Samuel Chepkonga, ended its session prematurely after Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) chairman Erastus Edung Ethekon informed members that a court order had suspended the implementation and enforcement of the regulations.
The conservatory order, issued on September 18, 2026, followed a petition filed on September 15 challenging the regulations published under Legal Notice No. 142 of 2026 and Gazette Notice No. 12251 on August 7.
Chepkonga said the committee could not proceed with a substantive examination of the rules while the matter was before the courts.
“Since we cannot interrogate this matter because it is sub judice, whatever we say would be a zero-sum game. We will not be able to make any meaningful contribution regarding the regulations,” he said.
"So it will be serious claims for us to consider regulations that have been already impugned by the Court of law." MP Chepkonga.
The Election Campaign Financing Regulations, 2026, provide procedures for implementing the Election Campaign Financing Act, 2013, which seeks to regulate how candidates, political parties and referendum committees receive, spend and account for campaign funds.
The rules require campaign officials to open dedicated bank accounts, document contributions and expenditure, and submit financial reports to the IEBC every three months during the expenditure period. They also require the disclosure of contributors and donations, including money raised through fundraising events.
The regulations cover cash and non-cash contributions and require donations exceeding Sh20,000 at fundraising events to be documented. Anonymous contributions cannot be retained by candidates or political parties and must be surrendered through the commission to the National Treasury.
The IEBC is also required to prescribe campaign expenditure limits and publish the formula and parameters used to calculate them.
During the session, Kilgoris MP Julius Sunkuli questioned how population would influence the amount candidates could spend during campaigns.
"Now like the Constituency how much are we supposed to spend per a person according to the calculations because it's evident that if you have more people, you've a chance of spending more money."
Likuyani MP Innocent Mugabe said population had featured prominently in recommendations on the expenditure formula.
"It was our recommendations that the population is also very key and I think that is what has been done to move the formula. The population is taking a larger portion than landmass."
Lawmakers also criticised the public participation process, arguing that elected representatives and political practitioners should have been more directly involved in discussions on the regulations.
"In your public participation and whenever you have such a weight matter which touches on the lives of the people, we expected you to request for a Kamukunji for the public to understand what you intend to do. These regulations you conducted the public participation to everyone else except the practitioners. The MPs are aggrieved, there is a loud cry that in future maybe you need to consider also conducting public participation in the spirit of fairness."
Responding to the concerns, Ethekon said the commission had engaged political parties and would continue working within its available resources.
"We will make sure we as much and we do what we can based on the resources available and we've engaged the political parties and we've taken care of the requirements."
The regulations provide for detailed financial returns, including records of contributions, bank transactions, receipts, invoices and audited accounts. Candidates, parties and referendum committees spending more than Sh1 million during the expenditure period must submit audited reports prepared by an auditor with a valid practising certificate.
Under the parent Act, violations can attract fines of up to Sh2 million, imprisonment for up to five years, or both, while specified offences may lead to disqualification.
The committee’s scrutiny remains constrained by the court order, leaving the regulations’ implementation on hold pending determination of the petition.