Why MPs now want 80 proposed electoral units scrapped

A new battle front has been opened in Parliament with a section of MPs pushing for the scrapping of the 80 proposed constituencies saying the additional legislators would be a burden on taxpayers.

In a move certain to cause acrimony given the political realignments around the new electoral units, the MPs are proposing a lean House with a maximum of 290 members.

If accepted, the move would be a blow to dozens of politicians, including top civil servants, who recently quit their jobs to contest seats in some of the new constituencies.

The agitation has been sparked by the month-long standoff over the one-third gender requirement after the General Election.

The MPs pushing for the scrapping of the constituencies argue that the move would not only result in a leaner Parliament but would also meet the one-third quota as well as reduce the number of direct nominations by political parties.

The Constitution stipulates that the country shall have 290 constituencies for the purpose of the next election. The turn of events is also driven by changing political dynamics ahead of the election which have seen a number of the envisaged constituencies fall in territories of political rivals.

For instance, some of the constituencies in the Kalenjin Rift Valley which were initially seen as supportive of Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s ODM are now in Mr William Ruto’s column.

With the approval of new boundaries, the region got an additional 26 constituencies. This will raise the number of elected MPs in the area to 75 from the current 49; then add 14 women MPs from the counties.

Even in Nairobi county, some of the ODM-leaning constituencies are now up for grabs, with Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta’s TNA positioning itself to control the city.

Politicians seeking the scrapping of the constituencies set out in the 2010 Constitution are against suggestions by the Cabinet to create special seats for women to close an anticipated gender gap after the elections.

They argue that the special seats will result in a bloated Parliament and would be a burden on taxpayers.

The proponents also advance the view that the move to allow political parties to nominate women for the seats will result in sycophants, joyriders and girlfriends of party leaders being nominated to Parliament.

MPs have for the past month been haggling over the mechanism to realise the requirement that no more than two-thirds of either gender should constitute members of elective institutions, including the Senate and the National Assembly.

The debate has hit a wall with some MPs calling for the deletion of the gender rule contained in Articles 27(8) and 81(b). Others are pushing for the scrapping of the 47 elective seats for women in the counties.

“This is a strong proposal from several members which is gaining ground although the truth is we are actually unable to implement the gender rule at the moment, and we need time to look through the other options,” said Mr Njoroge Baiya, the chair of the House committee on Justice and Legal Affairs.

ODM chief whip Jakoyo Midiwo is among key politicians pushing for the scrapping of the Andrew Ligale committee constituencies, arguing that a bloated Parliament will be costly to taxpayers.

“The issue of a bloated Parliament is not a matter one can dismiss. We are back to the drawing board and MPs have floated this option,” said Mr Baiya.

There has been quiet but sustained lobbying by women MPs, the House committees dealing with the Constitution as well as Gender and Justice minister to strike a compromise on the Cabinet proposals before they are subjected to a House vote.

At a meeting of MPs on Thursday, the proposal to scrap the constituencies was floated and is said to have been generally accepted. However, the push by Mr Midiwo, who was at the meeting for the abolition of the 47 women’s seats, was rejected. (READ: Gender rule still defies Kenya’s top law brains)

Instead, it was proposed that to satisfy the gender rule and prevent a bloated Parliament, the 80 constituencies be done away with in the General Election through a constitutional amendment.

Women elected

Moreover, the meeting suggested that the constituencies be retained at the current 210 in addition to 47 women elected from counties, adding up to 257.

It was calculated that a third of either gender using the elective seats will be 86. If women are the disadvantaged gender, it was advanced that with the election of the 47 and nomination of six, the deficit would be 33.

Assuming that no women are elected in the 210 constituencies, then Parliament would nominate the 33. Champions of the proposal, which they called a “middle ground”, said that it is generally agreed that the affirmative action rule was sacred, but the number of constituencies can be altered even using ordinary legislation. and that the latter is an easier predicament.

But Mandera Central MP Abdikadir Mohammed dismissed the proposal, saying those crusading for it were bent on creating confusion and making excuses to water down the spirit of affirmative action. “Such proposals will call for new amendments altogether and there is no time for that,” he told the Sunday Nation.

“These are people with entrenched positions and want to make matters complicated.” Mr Charles Nyachae, chairman of the Constitutional Implementation Commission, yesterday said any “agreeable” proposal as long as it does not water down the two-thirds rule was welcome.

“It is worth considering, and if agreeable it will be a way forward. The tragedy would be if it is unable to implement the gender requirement.” Significantly, a constitutional amendment would require 90 days of public debate before it is returned to Parliament for approval.

With the term of the current Parliament set to expire on January 15, it is likely that such an amendment would be untenable.

Gender balance

Given the rising hostilities ahead of the poll and apathy in Parliament as most MPs hit the campaign trail, it is becoming apparent that the gender debate will be protracted and may plunge the country into a constitutional crisis after the next election.

If the gender balance requirement is not met, the next Parliament will be deemed unconstitutional and will be dissolved until properly constituted. A coalition of mainly women NGOs on Friday said that the gender rule must be met and 80 new constituencies created.

“Any suggestions that the new constituencies are retrogressive and will compromise equality of the vote which the delimitation of boundaries sought to correct is wrong,” said the 27 organisations.

Article 27 of the Constitution states that no more than two-thirds of members of any institution should constitute one gender.

The article aims to address the poor representation of women in key State organs, which is mainly attributed to retrogressive cultural practices, violence in political campaigns and lack of resources.

But the Centre for Multi-Party Democracy (CMD) says the impasse in Parliament is uncalled for. Ms Njeri Kabeberi, the executive director, suggests that instead of the amendment to the Constitution, MPs should make changes to the Elections Act to ensure that political parties nominate women for election in selected constituencies.

This proposal was captured in a 2011 amendment suggested by a caucus of women professionals and presented by then Gender minister Esther Murugi but it was rejected.

Those opposed to the idea argued that voters would be denied their constitutional right to vote for a candidate of their choice.

The electoral commission had also earmarked the 80 constituencies for women, but again, the suggestion was shot down on the same grounds.