The Political Federation is the ultimate goal of the EAC Regional Integration, the fourth step after the Customs Union, Common Market and Monetary Union. It is provided for under Article 5(2) of the Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community and founded on three pillars: common foreign and security policies, good governance and effective implementation of the prior stages of Regional Integration.

It is worth noting that attainment of the Political Federation is a process and not an event. Though the process has been slow, the EAC Heads of State resolved at a Special Summit held in Nairobi on 27–29 August 2004 to examine ways and means of deepening and accelerating the process through a fast-track Mechanism. The Summit set up a Committee to Fast-Track the EAC Political Federation, dubbed the Wako Committee, to carry out wide consultations and finalise the work on the Political Federation. The Committee presented its report to the Summit on 29 November 2004.

As a result of the consultative process, the office of Deputy Secretary-General responsible for Political Federation was established in 2006 to coordinate this process.

Since 2004, the EAC has been putting in place initiatives to fast-track political integration. Summit directives were given and national consultations with stakeholders between 2006 and 2008 as well as various studies were undertaken to examine, facilitate and fast-track the process. In the consultations, it became clear that the East African citizens want to be adequately engaged and to have a say in the decisions and policies pursued by the East African Community.

On 20th May, 2017, the EAC Heads of State adopted the Political Confederation as a transitional model of the East African Political Federation.