Women contesting in the 2017 General Elections in the Coast Region of Kenya: Success and Obstacles

Résumé 0

Women’s participation in Kenyan politics has increased in the last two general elections. For example, in the 2013 elections, a record number of 81 women were elected and nominated to the eleventh parliament. In the 2017 general elections, 21 women were elected to Member of Parliament positions, up from 16 women in 2013. However, this increase in the number of women in parliament is not evidence of democratization, and, in most cases, is a deliberate strategy by political parties to both adhere to the legal provisions of the constitution and attract a larger voter base in order to consolidate their power. Against this backdrop, this chapter investigates the factors influencing women’s participation in the 2017 general elections in the coastal region of Kenya. The factors that determine women’s political participation in this region go some way towards explaining the limited number of women involved in politics in Kenya broadly. As such, this chapter seeks to answer the following two questions: 1) What are the ‘glass ceilings’ faced by women in their political careers? 2) How successful were women politicians when campaigning in their constituencies? Based on qualitative interviews with relevant stakeholders, field observations and relevant secondary information, the article highlights the successes and obstacles faced by women candidates from the Coast in their journey towards the 2017 elections.