Aden Duale Warns 2026 Election Could Cut Leaders’ Terms by 10 Months as Kenya Faces Constitutional Storm
Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has warned that holding Kenya’s next General Election in 2026 could effectively cut short the constitutional terms of the President, governors, MPs, senators and Members of County Assemblies by almost 10 months.
Duale’s remarks come amid a growing constitutional battle over when Kenyans should next go to the polls, following a landmark ruling by the Malindi High Court declaring that the next presidential election was constitutionally due on August 11, 2026, rather than in 2027.
Justice Mugure Thande ruled that the Constitution requires presidential elections to be held during the fifth year following the previous election. She subsequently suspended the implementation of her orders, meaning the ruling does not immediately trigger an election next week and allowing room for the matter to be challenged.
But Duale has strongly rejected the court’s interpretation, arguing that it would effectively deny elected leaders the five-year period Kenyans have traditionally understood them to serve.
In a statement issued on Saturday, August 8, Duale accused Justice Thande of placing excessive emphasis on the wording of the Constitution by distinguishing between the phrases “fifth year” and “five years.”
“The judgment by Lady Justice Thande misinterprets and misapplies the Constitution by splitting hairs on the meaning of two simple words, ‘fifth year’ and ‘five years’,” Duale said.
The Cabinet Secretary argued that implementing the ruling immediately would result in elected leaders leaving office after roughly four years and two days.
“To interpret that the date is next week would mean all elective positions would be vacated after exactly just 4 years and 2 days, which is an absurdity,” he stated.
Duale maintained that Kenya’s constitutional framework was designed to keep presidential, parliamentary and county elections within a common electoral cycle.
He further argued that the Constitution should be interpreted against the backdrop of Kenya’s electoral history, including the system that existed before the promulgation of the 2010 Constitution.
“It is also a matter of public notoriety and judicial notice that a term is pegged on 5 years based on our Constitution’s history and the previous elections held in the country,” Duale said.
His argument directly challenges the reasoning adopted by Justice Thande, who found that the Constitution does not necessarily guarantee the President an uninterrupted five-year period in office and that the constitutional election timetable takes precedence.
The court’s decision has triggered intense debate among constitutional lawyers, politicians and members of the public, with competing interpretations emerging over how the five-year electoral cycle should be calculated.
Duale insisted that Kenyans had never voted for a system in which elected leaders would serve approximately four years and two days before facing another election.
He therefore maintained that the next General Election should remain scheduled for 2027, after completion of what he considers the current five-year electoral cycle.
The dispute has now placed Kenya’s electoral calendar at the centre of an unprecedented constitutional controversy, with the High Court’s declaration challenging the timetable around which political parties, the electoral commission and prospective candidates have been preparing.
The ruling has also raised questions over what would happen to the tenure of President William Ruto and other elected officials if the 2026 interpretation were ultimately upheld.
For now, however, the court’s orders have been suspended, meaning Kenya remains on course for the scheduled electoral timetable unless a higher court determines otherwise.
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