The Senate has opened public participation on the proposed Referendum Bill, 2026, setting the stage for what lawmakers describe as a major attempt to harmonise Kenya’s referendum laws and seal legal gaps exposed by the courts during the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) cases.
The Bill, currently before the Senate Justice and Legal Affairs, seeks to establish a single legal framework governing how referenda are conducted, including constitutional amendment votes, county referenda and plebiscites on matters of national public interest.
The committee, chaired by Bomet Senator Hillary Sigei, has invited Kenyans and stakeholders to submit written memoranda by May 29 as Parliament begins scrutiny of one of the most consequential governance Bills in recent years.
The proposed law comes nearly five years after the courts nullified the BBI constitutional amendment process, faulting, among other issues, the absence of a comprehensive legal framework governing referenda and popular initiatives.
Speaking as the committee commenced deliberations, Sigei said the Bill was intended to provide clarity, predictability and fairness in future referendum processes.
“Our task is to cure the fragmentation the courts pointed out and give Kenyans a clear, predictable and fair process for expressing their will,” Sigei said.
The Referendum Bill was read for the first time in the Senate on May 5 and formally advertised two days later, paving the way for public participation before debate proceeds to the next stages.
At the heart of the Bill is the creation of a unified system for managing three categories of referenda.
The first category covers constitutional amendment referenda under Articles 255, 256 and 257 of the Constitution.
The second deals with county referenda, while the third relates to referenda on other public issues deemed significant enough to require direct public voting.
Lawmakers backing the proposal say Kenya has operated without a dedicated referendum law since the promulgation of the 2010 Constitution, forcing electoral bodies and courts to rely on scattered provisions in various statutes.
The Bill therefore seeks to consolidate key rules on voter eligibility, polling procedures, campaign conduct and electoral offences by borrowing heavily from the Elections Act.
Under the proposed framework, once Parliament passes a constitutional amendment requiring a referendum, the President will have 30 days to notify the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).
The IEBC would then be required to conduct the referendum within 90 days of receiving the notification.
The Bill also outlines the threshold for approving constitutional amendments through a referendum.
A proposal would pass only if at least 20 per cent of registered voters in at least half of Kenya’s counties participate in the vote and a simple majority supports the amendment.
Supporters of the legislation say the thresholds are intended to ensure national legitimacy while preventing constitutional changes from being driven by low voter turnout.
However, senators have already raised concerns over some of the more sensitive provisions, especially those touching on popular initiatives and signature verification.
Nominated Senator Crystal Asige warned that the credibility of any future referendum process would heavily depend on how signatures collected from citizens are handled and verified.
“The signatures must be open to inspection, properly verified and traceable, because without integrity at that stage the entire initiative loses legitimacy,” Asige said.
Her remarks appeared to echo concerns that emerged during the BBI process, where questions were raised over the collection and verification of signatures supporting the constitutional amendment drive.
The Bill requires a popular initiative seeking constitutional amendment to be backed by at least one million registered voters, in line with Article 257 of the Constitution.
Legal analysts say the absence of a clear statutory process for verifying such signatures has in the past exposed the country to legal disputes and accusations of manipulation.
Makueni Senator Daniel Maanzo also pressed the committee on the issue of public participation, insisting that Kenyans must be adequately involved before Parliament finalises the legislation.
The push for a comprehensive referendum law follows a series of landmark court decisions arising from the BBI litigation, where judges faulted the constitutional amendment process on procedural and legal grounds.
Among the issues highlighted by the courts was the lack of an operational legal framework governing referenda, particularly on matters relating to verification, timelines and the management of popular initiatives.
The judgments triggered wider debate on whether Kenya’s Constitution can adequately function without a standalone referendum statute.
The Senate committee is expected to receive submissions from legal experts, civil society organisations, political parties, religious groups and ordinary citizens before preparing its report to the House.
If enacted, the Referendum Bill, 2026, would become Kenya’s first comprehensive law dedicated entirely to the conduct of referenda, potentially reshaping how future constitutional changes are pursued.
The outcome of the public participation process is expected to significantly influence the final shape of the Bill, especially as the country continues to grapple with questions around constitutional reform, governance and the exercise of popular sovereignty.
