Thinking Through the Crisis of Intra-Party Democracy in Kenya:

Description

This study has looked at intraparty politics in Kenya during various transitional periods of democracy since 1921. It is based on the reality that, while intra-party democracy is a desirable ideal for efficient political party performance and the consolidation of democracy in broader society, political parties in Kenya have not functioned as effective democratic institutions. This is due to the fact that, despite the fact that most parties’ organizational laws mention intra-party democracy principles, they have yet to be implemented in actual political processes. As a result, even Kenya’s lauded reintroduction of multi-party democracy in 1991 has just resulted in a break in the democratic transition process, with increasingly unpopular and distrusted parties. There have been few studies that have looked at the state of internal democracy in political parties during various transitional periods.