A PRACTITIONER’S GUIDE TO INCREASING WOMEN’S ACCESS TO ELECTORAL JUSTICE 2022 elections was 22.7 percent, far below the one-third minimum required by the Kenyan Constitution and below the international average of women in national parliaments, which stands at 26 percent.130 On August 9, 2022, Kenyans went to 46,231 polling stations to cast their votes for president, county governors, the National Parliament, and municipal councils. Of the 16,098 candidates registered to contest the six elections, only 1,962 (12 percent) of the contestants were women.131 For the first time, a woman candidate ran on a major presidential ticket in Kenya. Martha Karau, a former justice minister, was selected as Raila Odinga’s candidate for deputy president. With a turnout of approximately 65 percent of the country’s 22.1 million registered voters (down from 80 percent in 2017), William Ruto was elected president with 50.5 percent of the ballots cast, compared to Odinga’s 48.9 percent. Women were elected to 6.4 percent of directly elected positions in the Senate, 7.9 percent of directly elected positions in the county assemblies, 13.3 percent of the directly elected positions in the National Assembly and 14.9 percent of governors.132 Even with reserved seats in the Parliament, women now comprise 23.28 percent of the National Assembly and 31.82 percent of the Senate, for a total of 24.5 percent of the national legislature – still in violation of the two-thirds gender rule. Process for Resolving Election Disputes In Kenya, an election court refers to the Supreme Court in exercise of the jurisdiction conferred upon it by Article 163(3)(a) of the Constitution, the High Court in the exercise of the jurisdiction conferred upon it by Article 165(3)(a) of the Constitution, or the High Court in the exercise of the jurisdiction conferred upon it by the Electoral Act. The Supreme Court has exclusive jurisdiction for petitions related to presidential election results; prior to the election, the High Court and Court of Appeal have jurisdiction for pre-election disputes under regular jurisdiction. Jurisdiction over election results petitions is further detailed in the table below. Election Results Petition First Instance Appeals (if applicable) Members of County Assembly Magistrates’ Court High Court County women representatives Magistrates’ Court High Court Governor High Court Court of Appeal Senators High Court Members of National Assembly High Court Party list representative to Senate High Court Party list representative to National High Court Party list representative to member of County High Court Assembly Assembly President Supreme Court Not Applicable Electoral laws consist of the Constitution; the Elections Act; the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Act; the Political Parties Act; Election Campaign Financing Act; Election Offences Act; and subsidiary legislation related to the presidential, parliamentary, and county elections and referenda. 130 World Bank. (2021). Proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments (%) | Data. Worldbank.org. European Union Election Observation Mission in Kenya. (2022, August 11). Preliminary Statement: Fundamental freedoms respected in Kenya’s general elections, but procedural shortcomings demonstrate the need for improvements. 132 European Union Election Observation Mission in Kenya. (2022, August 9). European Union Election Observation Mission Kenya 2022 Final Report. 131 47