Influence of Legal Framework in Enhancing Democratic Governance Process in Kenya
Keywords:
Legal Framework, Democratic Governance and Kenya.Abstract
The Kenyan 2010 constitution provides a legal framework with a republic founded upon the idea of all sovereign power belonging to the people of Kenya and the establishment of two levels of government namely; the national government and the County government (Article 1 (4) Constitution of Kenya). The legal framework posits a legal positioning of the county governments to be respected by the national government in a relationship of equals through a moderating national and county government summit and the intergovernmental relations. In order to effectively support a country to achieve democratic governance, understanding of the legal framework effectiveness is necessary. Institutions need to be able to analyze legislation and regulations and advocate for appropriate provisions. They also have to be able to monitor implementation of provisions and take steps to ensure that they are enforced effectively and impartially.The objective of the study was to establish the influence of legal framework on enhancing democratic governance. The study adopted descriptive and correlation research design. All the forty-seven (47) counties in Kenya were targeted, with five officers per counties forming the sample frame. Regression models were used to examine the influence of the legal framework on democratic governance in Kenya. The study found that there was a positive relationship between legal framework and democratic governance. The results provided sufficient statistically significant evidence to signify the relationship. Legal framework provides for the establishment of an administrative and institutional framework at the national and county government to ensure access to national government services in all parts promoting responsiveness to citizens’ needs and aspirations. Institutions need to be able to analyze legislation and regulations and advocate for appropriate provisions.This study addressed the existing knowledge gap by determining the effect of legal framework on democratic governance process in Kenya.
Keywords: Legal Framework, Democratic Governance & Kenya.
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