MCAs back Bills seeking to implement gender rule

MCAs in western Kenya have endorsed proposed Bills that seek to amend the Constitution and fix the number of ward reps at 1,450.

The Constitution (amendment) Bill of 2015 further proposes to do away with nominations in the county assemblies except in cases of people with disabilities, the elderly and the marginalised groups.

County reps from Kakamega, Vihiga, Busia and Bungoma attended a function in Kakamega on Saturday organised by the Kenya Parliamentary Human Rights Association and Western Cluster County Assembly forum.

In a press briefing, Ndhiwa MP Agostinho Neto, who was representing the Kenya Parliamentary Human Rights Association and Mr Steve Ambulwa, the forum’s representative, said discussions focused on the assemblies’ role in the amendment process by popular initiative.

Deliberations on the proposed Bills, under the banner of the Green Amendment campaign, have been proposed by the Kenya Parliamentary Human Rights Association, the National Women Steering Committee and the Kenya Human Rights Commission.

The groups are on a nationwide tour seeking support for the Bills that aim to implement the one-third gender rule.

In the first Bill, the groups want the number of constituencies reduced to 210 and each county to elect two women representatives to bring the total number of members of the National Assembly to 304.

The second Bill proposes that two adjacent constituencies (that border each other), with even number counties, elect one woman representative.

In the proposed Bills counties with an odd number of constituencies will have the last three adjacent vote zones with the lowest population lumped together.

“We hope to present one million signatures to the electoral agency before the Bills are introduced to assemblies,” said Mr Ambulwa.