The Jubilee Party of Kenya was the ruling political party of the Republic of Kenya from 2016 until 13 September 2022. The party was founded on 8 September 2016, following the merger of 11 smaller parties. During the 2017 election, the Jubilee Party secured a plurality of seats in Parliament and the party leader, Uhuru Kenyatta, was re-elected president.
Ideology
The party pledges "devolution of power, protection of minorities and the marginalised, and non-discrimination on the basis of race, sex, religion, ethnicity or any other bias."
Background
Leadership
The party leader is Uhuru Kenyatta the former president of Kenya leading the larger group of the Party. The deputy party leader was formerly William Ruto, who served as deputy president of Kenya during Kenyatta's tenure. The head of the Party Secretariat is Raphael Tuju, a former politician and Member of Parliament for Rarieda Constituency. The officials were named during the party's first National Governing Council (NGC) meeting held at the Bomas of Kenya auditorium, in November 2016. Each of the political parties that merged had elected leaders at different levels of government, as follows:
Membership
Membership of the party is acquired by application, recommendation, nomination and registration. On payment of the prescribed fee, a member is issued a membership number in digital form and a smart card. The card is proof of membership and contains the name, identity number and mobile phone number. While the card was intended to prevent fraud during party primaries and nominations before the general election of 2017, those without the card were still able to vote in the primaries if they had a Kenyan identity card.
History
Founding
The Jubilee Party is considered to be the successor of the Jubilee Alliance. The Jubilee Alliance was a political alliance established in January 2013 to support Kenyatta's presidential campaign. Under President Uhuru Kenyatta, the Jubilee Alliance governed through a party coalition. However, the stability of this system was threatened by tribalism and disagreements between parties. In 2016, the Jubilee Alliance's leadership, including President Kenyatta, decided to transition from a coalition government to a single unified party, the Jubilee Party. The new party was formed from the principal members of the Jubilee Alliance's previous coalition, as well as new political parties. These founding parties were:
Jubilee Alliance Party (JAP) Alliance Party of Kenya (APK) United Republican Party (URP) Grand National Union (GNU) New FORD–Kenya (NFK) FORD People (FP) United Democratic Forum (UDF) Chama Cha Uzalendo (CCU) Republican Congress (RC) The National Alliance (TNA)[5] The Independence Party (TIP)
The party merger was made official on 7 September 2016, when all involved parties held their respective National delegates Conferences (NDC). The new political party was announced to the public at a ceremony held at the Safaricom Kasarani Stadium on 8 September 2016.
2017 general election
The Jubilee Party was one of the primary competitors during Kenya's 2017 general elections. The election was preceded by multiple acts of violence, challenging the lawfulness of the elections. Deputy President Ruto's house was attacked by a single intruder, who killed a guard in the process. In addition, Christopher Msando, a senior election official, was found murdered only a few days before voting began. His death raised concerns, both domestically and abroad, regarding the possibility of electoral fraud.
After months of campaigning, elections were held on 8 August 2017. The Jubilee Party made significant gains in the 2017 General election, winning 140 of 290 parliamentary seats, 25 of 47 County women representatives seats, 24 of 47 senatorial seats, and 25 of the 47 governors. The party's candidate and the incumbent president, Uhuru Kenyatta, won the election by a comfortable margin, receiving 8,223,369 which was 54.17% against ODM leader Raila Odinga who garnered 6,822,812 which translates to 44.94% of the total votes cast. However, the results of the first election were annulled by the Supreme Court of Kenya following a successful petition from the runner-up, Raila Odinga, who questioned the authenticity of the official vote. A second election was held on 26 October, which Odinga boycotted, citing his desire for electoral reform. Opposition protests in Nairobi, Kisumu and Mombasa were banned by the Jubilee Party in the weeks leading up to the second election. With no formal opposition, the Jubilee ticket received a near unanimous percentage of the vote, ensuring Kenyatta's victory.