Kenya promulgated a new constitution in August 2010, creating a solid legal platform for enhancing participatory governance through devolved structures at the county level. The establishment of a devolved system of government aimed to facilitate access to power and to move control over resources from the central government to the counties. While devolution is highly popular among Kenyan citizens, there has also been criticism of the costs involved, the increased competition between officers, and corruption and ethnic competition, which have arisen across much of the country.

To shed light on the state of local democracy alongside issues of gender and inclusion, CMD-Kenya commissioned a survey which applied International IDEA’s State of Local Democracy framework, to conduct a ‘health check’ for democratic governance at the local level in order to identify strengths and weaknesses. This abridged Report presents the main findings of the survey. For a longer version, please go to the comprehensive report.