In Kenya, a political party called the National Rainbow Coalition–Kenya (NARC–Kenya) exists. Following the failure of the government-sponsored draft constitution, the party was established. Members of the National Rainbow Coalition who supported the government founded it. Despite only being a few months old, the party won two civic seats and three parliamentary seats (Nakuru Town, Saku, and North Horr) in the July 24, 2006 by-elections. These were intended to serve as a litmus test for the upcoming general elections, in which the new party was expected to play a significant role in ensuring President Mwai Kibaki’s reelection.
In the June 24, 2006, by-elections, the party secured three of the five parliamentary seats that were up for grabs. The constituencies of Nakuru Town, Saku, and North Horr were won by its candidates William Kariuki, Hussein Sasura, and Ukur Yattani Kanacho.
It was anticipated that the party would nominate the current president, Mwai Kibaki, for a further five-year term. But the party never really got going. Prominent individuals close to Kibaki were reluctant to enlist. Thus, a few months prior to the 2007 election, NARC-Kenya joined the newly established Party of National Unity (PNU), a new coalition. However, the party chose to run a number of candidates under its own banner, which added to PNU’s overall dismal performance in the legislative elections as its member parties faced off against one another.
At the Kenyan general election, 2007, Narc-Kenya managed to enter three candidates into parliament.
To the disapproval of multiple coalition parties, notably NARC-Kenya, PNU decided to register as a political party on its own in late 2008. In November 2008, Narc-Kenya chose to proceed with its own membership drive and elected Martha Karua as the party’s head. As part of putting Kenya’s new constitution into effect, the New Political Parties Act was passed, and Narc Kenya had the honor of being the first political party to file for registration.
