General elections were held in

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

on 21 March 1988. At the time, the county was a

one-party state A one-party state, single-party state, one-party system, or single-party system is a type of sovereign state in which only one political party has the right to form the government, usually based on the existing constitution. All other parties ...

with the Kenya African National Union as the sole legal party. The size of the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...

was expanded from 158 to 188 seats prior to the elections. Although the post of

President of Kenya The president of the Republic of Kenya () is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Kenya. The President is also the head of the executive branch of the Government of Kenya and is the commander-in-chief of the Kenya Defe ...

was due to be elected at the same time as the National Assembly, Daniel arap Moi was the sole candidate and was automatically elected without a vote being held. Following the elections, a further 12 members were appointed by President Moi.History of the Parliament of Kenya
Parliament of Kenya

Background

In February 1988 a new system was introduced for the

primary election Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...

s of KANU candidates. The ''mlolongo'' or

queue __NOTOC__ Queue () may refer to: * Queue area, or queue, a line or area where people wait for goods or services Arts, entertainment, and media *''ACM Queue'', a computer magazine * The Queue (Sorokin novel), ''The Queue'' (Sorokin novel), a 198 ...

system involved party members lining up behind photographs of their preferred candidate.In One-Party Kenya, Election Is Questioned
New York Times, 24 March 1988] In a country of 20 million people, 4,528,480 were KANU members, and there were accusations that the ''mlolongo'' system resulted in voter intimidation and fraud during the primaries. ''Beyond'', a church-based magazine was banned after it condemned the public voting as "a mockery of justice."

Results

Aftermath

At the first meeting of newly elected Assembly in April 1988,

Fred Mbiti Gideon Mati Fredrick Mbiti Gideon Mati was the first African and longest serving Speaker of the Kenyan Parliament, having been elected speaker on 6 February 1970, taking over from Humphrey Slade, and serving until April 1988.Colony and protectorate of Ken ...

, who had been

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** In ...

since 1970, resigned, and the National Assembly elected Moses Kiprono arap Keino as his replacement.

References

{{Kenyan elections Elections in Kenya 1988 in Kenya One-party elections

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

National Assembly (Kenya)