What does it take to amend the Constitution by Popular initiative?

Amendment by popular initiative commences with a proposal or a Bill approved by at least one   million voters.  The Draft Bill and the supporting signatures are then submitted to IEBC which is required to verify that the initiative.

The Commission then transmits the Draft Bill to each County Assembly for consideration.

The County Assembly is required to dispose the Bill within three months and certify to the Speakers of the two Houses of Parliament its approval of the Bill.

If a majority of the Members of the Parliament support the Bill, it shall be sent to the President for assent.  If the  Bill is rejected  by  Parliament, or  if the  Bill touches  on  the  entrenched clauses in Article 255 (1),  it is to  be  submitted to  voters  for  consideration in a referendum.

The Process:

1-   The IEBC acknowledges receipt of the proposed constitutional amendment Bill together with supporting signatures.  The documents are forwarded to the commission by virtue of Article 257 of the Constitution.

2-  Article  257(1)  of  the  Constitution requires  that  a  constitutional amendment through a popular initiative  must be supported by at least a million  signatures of registered  voters.

3-  Having  received  the  supporting signatures,  the  Commission  proceeds to verify  that  the  initiative  is supported by  one  million  signatures  of  registered voters  in accordance with Article 257(4).

4-  If satisfied  that  the  constitutional threshold for  signatures  has  been  met,  the Commission  within  3 months  (90  days)  submit  the  Bill to  the  47  county assemblies for a vote.

5-  County  assemblies have 3 months  to approve the Bill before  submission to the  Speakers of  Parliament  – the  National Assembly and  the  Senate  – with  a certificate confirming  approval.

6- The Bill requires approval by at least 24 county assemblies before being introduced in Parliament. If the Bill is approved by 24 counties at minimum, Article 257(7) states that the Bill will be introduced in Parliament WITHOUT DELAY.

7- The law anticipates   two cases in which a referendum must be held (Article 257(10):   (1) If Parliament fails to pass  an  amendment  that  originated  as  a popular initiative,   and   (2)  if  the  proposed  amendment  relates   to  matters specified in Article 255(1).

8-  In  the  event   that  this  process  graduates  to  a  referendum, the  National Treasury  and  Parliament  allocate  additional resources to enable  the Commission  fulfill its mandate.