From Unity to Divergence: Examining Coalition Governments in Kenya's Legislative Context

This study evaluated the elements influencing party loyalty within Kenyan coalition administrations by evaluating vote trends on finance bills from 2013 to 2024. Coalition governments were common in Kenya's complex political landscape, but there was little knowledge of what motivated party loyalty or desertion within these partnerships. The study used a scoping review methodology to examine how electoral positioning, government position allocation, and the interaction of tribal politics and rural constituency representation affected voting behavior. The findings demonstrated that smaller coalition groupings strategically opposed coalition-sponsored legislation as elections neared to build their own political identities. Parties obtaining fewer government positions frequently felt marginalized, prompting defection on essential votes. Furthermore, MPs from tribal parties representing rural areas faced additional constraints as they managed ethnic group expectations and alleged urban bias in resource allocation. The study found that coalition voting behavior in Kenya was a complicated interaction of strategic electoral calculations, resource distribution concerns, and ethnic considerations. These findings helped to better understand coalition dynamics in Kenya's legislative procedures, with implications for coalition stability and governance efficacy in situations of ethnic diversity and resource competitiveness.