Party organs
Who decides what
Seven organs. The delegates elect the Executive Council, the Executive Council appoints the county committees, and every one of them answers back up the chain.
It meets once every five years and can amend anything, including this structure.
The seven
Top of the chain first
Authority descends and accountability climbs. The constitution is plain that branch committees are appointed rather than elected, so this page says so too.
Article 6, party constitution
National Delegates Convention NDC
The supreme organ, with power to determine party policy.
Who sits on itNational officials, governors and deputy governors, senators, members of the National Assembly and county assemblies, county and constituency committees, and a diaspora representative.
What it doesElects the National Executive Council, amends the constitution and the manifesto, approves the accounts, elects the auditor and nominates the presidential flagbearer.
National Coordinating Committee NCC
The body that ratifies the Executive Council’s biggest decisions.
Who sits on itAll NEC members, the Executive Director, county coordinators from every county with a functional office, and the chairpersons of the Women, Youth and Persons with Disability Leagues.
What it doesRatifies budgets, senior appointments, the opening or closing of offices, coalitions and expulsions. Hears appeals from the NEC and county disciplinary committees. Oversees the Secretariat.
National Executive Council NEC
The governing body, making binding decisions on party management and policy.
Who sits on itTwenty-six national officials, from the Party Leader and Chairperson through to the secretaries for legal affairs, gender, youth and persons with disability, with the Executive Director sitting ex officio.
What it doesRuns the party between conventions, appoints the county committees, approves the annual budget, and appoints the Elections Board and the disciplinary committees.
National Secretariat NS
The implementation and administrative arm, based at the head office.
Who sits on itHeaded by an Executive Director, recruited competitively by the NEC and answerable to the Secretary General. Five departments: finance and administration, elections and membership, legal and constitutional affairs, communications, and ICT and data.
What it doesImplements decisions of the Convention and the NEC, keeps the membership register, holds custody of records and assets, and services the meetings of every organ.
County Executive Committee CEC
Runs the county branch. Required in at least twenty-four counties.
Who sits on itNine posts: county coordinator and deputy, secretary and deputy, treasurer, organising secretary, women leader, youth leader, and a representative of persons with disability.
What it doesRecruits members, popularises the manifesto, vets aspirants with the Elections Board, coordinates campaigns, and appoints the county disciplinary committee.
Constituency Management Committee CMC
The sub-branch between the county and the ward.
Who sits on itEstablished in every constituency where the party has a presence.
What it doesCoordinates the wards, oversees nominations at constituency level, and appoints the sub-county disciplinary committee.
Ward Executive Committee WEC
The organ closest to the voter.
Who sits on itThree officials nominated by the County Executive Committee for five years: ward coordinator, ward secretary and ward treasurer.
What it doesEstablishes polling station committees, registers members at the grassroots, and mobilises voters.
Outside the chain
Four bodies apart
Nominations, discipline, disputes and property sit outside the Executive Council, with written rules designed to keep them there.
Articles 14, 15, 17 and 18
Seven members appointed by the NEC and ratified by the Convention. Conducts all party elections and primaries, issues nomination certificates, and resolves nomination disputes at first instance.
No member may hold an elective party position or stand for any elective office while serving. Members must have been paid-up for at least five continuous years. Composition must reflect regional representation and gender balance, and includes representatives of the Youth, Women and Persons with Disability Leagues.
A standing committee of five, hearing every dispute that is not an electoral one. Matters are determined within a month.
The chairperson must be a person qualified to be a judge of the High Court of Kenya. The deputy chairperson must be of the opposite gender to the chair.
Three levels: national with seven members, county with seven, sub-county with five. Quorum is two thirds throughout.
The national chairperson must be qualified to be a High Court judge. Membership must include women, youth and persons with disabilities. No member may hold elective party office or stand for election while serving.
Three trustees appointed by the NEC and ratified by the Convention, holding the party’s land and buildings in trust for the members.
Trustees must be fully paid-up Life Members with knowledge of law, finance or estate management, and must meet Chapter Six of the Constitution of Kenya. No property may be sold or charged without a two-thirds NEC resolution and the trustees’ written consent.
If you are accused
Five doors
A complaint must be lodged within fourteen days and determined within sixty. The whole process may not exceed ninety days except in exceptional circumstances.
Articles 18.7 and 18.8
Sub-county committee
A complaint is heard where it arose. Fourteen days to appeal.
County committee
Hears appeals from the sub-county. Fourteen days to appeal onward.
National committee
Hears appeals from the county. Fourteen days to appeal onward.
National Executive Council
The final decision inside the party. Fourteen days to go outside it.
Political Parties Disputes Tribunal
A state body, not a party organ. Nobody inside PPK can close this door.
Sanctions run from a written warning through fines and suspension to expulsion. Every decision is appealable.
Leagues and caucuses
Voices with a seat
Three leagues and three caucuses, each with a defined place in the structure rather than a mention in a speech.
The three leagues
- Women League
- Youth League
- Persons with Disability League
Each chairperson sits on the National Coordinating Committee, and each league has a representative on the National Elections Board. The NEC also carries national secretaries for women, youth and persons with disability.
The three caucuses
- National Assembly Caucus
- Senate Caucus
- County Assembly Caucus
Elected and nominated members support the party through monthly contributions set by the NEC, and advance party policy in their assemblies under the direction of the NEC and the Convention.
Articles 6.2.1, 8.6, 11 and 15.3.1
How often, and how many
Meetings and quorum
An organ that does not meet cannot be held to account. These are the minimums.
| Organ | Meets at least | Quorum |
|---|---|---|
| National Delegates Convention | Every five years | Two thirds |
| National Coordinating Committee | Every three months | Fifty per cent |
| National Executive Council | Every two months | Fifty per cent |
| County Executive Committee | Every quarter | Two thirds |
| Ward Executive Committee | On three days notice | Two thirds |
| Parliamentary caucuses | Twice a year | — |
Article 7 also allows virtual and hybrid meetings, and alternates where key members are absent, so that a failure of quorum does not stall the party.
The document
This page is a summary
Where this page and the party constitution differ, the constitution prevails. The constitution calls the supreme organ both the Delegates Convention and the Delegates Congress; both mean the NDC.