Historical perspective

A Comparative analysis of the National Assembly and the Senate

	NATIONAL ASSEMBLY	NEW SENATE
NUMBER OF SENATORS	349	67
COMPOSITION	290 Elected members from Constituencies; 47 women elected from Counties; 12 members nominated to represent special interest including youth, people with disabilities and workers; Speaker as Ex-officio member	47 elected Senators; 16 nominated women; 2 youth, 2 people representing people with disabilities; the Speaker as an Ex-officio member
REPRESENTATION	290 Constituencies; women; youth; people with disabilities; workers	47 Counties; women; youth; people with disabilities
LENGTH OF TERM	5 years	5 years
ELECTION PROCESS	337 elected by adult suffrage and 12 nominated on the basis of proportional representation by party lists	47 elected by adult suffrage and 20 nominated on the basis of proportional representation by party lists
ROLES AND FUNCTIONS	Represents the Constituencies and special interests Deliberates on and resolves issues of concern to the people Exercises oversight over national revenue and its expenditure Reviews the conduct of the President and his Deputy and initiates the process of impeachment Exercises oversight of State Organs Approves declarations of war and extensions of States of emergency Approve a resolution to alter the boundaries of a county Approve deployment of national forces in and outside Kenya Approve Cabinet Secretaries, Attorney General, Secretary to the Cabinet, High Commissioners, Ambassadors as nominated by the President	Represents the Counties and protects the interests of the County Considers, debates and approves Bills concerning Counties Determines allocation of revenue among Counties Exercises oversight over national revenue allocated to Counties Oversight of State officers by determining a resolution to impeach the President or Deputy President Approve a resolution to alter the boundaries of a county Determine the basis for allocating the share of national revenue among the Counties Approve deployment of national forces in and outside Kenya
LEGISLATIVE ROLE	Initiates legislation on all Bills including county Government Bills Enacts legislation on Bills- that determine allocation of national revenue between levels of government; appropriates funds for expenditure by	Legislate- originates a Bill concerning County Governments (Bill containing provisions affecting the functions and powers of the county governments, relating