Several constituencies have remained without a member of parliament (MP) for months, despite the Constitution requiring a by-election whenever such seats fall vacant.

According to Article 101 of the 2010 Constitution, whenever a vacancy in the parliamentary or senatorial seat occurs, a by-election shall be held within ninety days of the occurrence of the vacancy.

However, since the 2022 General Elections, a number of constituencies have remained without representatives in the National Assembly, exceeding the time prescribed by law.

Once a vacancy occurs for a senatorial or parliamentary seat, the speaker of the respective house is required to within twenty-one days of the occurrence of the vacancy, give notice in writing of the vacancy to IEBC and the political party on whose party list the member was elected or nominated.

The failure to conduct is thought to have been occasioned by a lack of commissioners to run election affairs in the electoral body.

IEBC has had no commissioners at all since chairman Wafula Chebukati, Boya Molu and Abdi Guliye retired in January 2023.

The other four commissioners, Juliana Cherera, Francis Wandera, Irene Masit, and Justus Nyang’aya, quit after rejecting William Ruto’s election as President in 2022.  

Despite National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula promising that Ruto would gazette the selection panel for new commissioners in July, the promise is yet to be kept.

The promise came after Ruto signed into law the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (Amendment) Bill, paving the way for the appointment of new IEBC commissioners.

Here’s a list of constituencies that have no MPs;

Banisa Constituency

Banisa Constituency has remained without an MP for close to 18 months now following the death of Kullow Hassan in March 2023.

Hassan died while undergoing treatment at the Aga Khan University Hospital in Nairobi.

He succumbed to his injuries while in the hospital’s ICU after he was involved in a hit-and-run motorcycle accident near Capital Centre in South B, Nairobi, on March 25, 2023.

Magarini Constituency

Magarini Constituency has remained vacant since March 2024 after the Supreme Court nullified the August 9, 2022 election of Harrison Kombe.

The apex court found that Kombe, who ran on an ODM ticket, engaged in ballot stuffing and altering of election results.

Kombe had appealed a decision by the Court of Appeal to nullify his election.

“We affirm the judgment of the Court of Appeal, together with the directions on the declaration of the seat of the Member of the National Assembly for Magarini Constituency vacant and the direction to the 2nd respondent to conduct a by-election for Member of the National Assembly for Magarini Constituency in accordance with the law,” Supreme Court.

Ugunja Constituency

The Ugunja parliamentary seat fell vacant following the appointment of former MP Opiyo Wandayi as the Cabinet Secretary of Energy and Petroleum.

Wandayi was appointed Cabinet Secretary in July 2024 during the formation of President William Ruto’s broad-based government.

Gwassi Constituency

Gwassi Constituency was previously represented in the National Assembly by John Mbadi, who was appointed the Treasury Cabinet Secretary in July 2024.