Uasin Gishu Woman Representative Gladys Shollei has sought to increase the number of electoral units designated for women from the current 47 to 136.
Through Constitution of Kenya (Amendments) Bill, 2019, the Woman MP also seeks to increase the number of senators from the current 67 to 100 members.
If enacted, the number of nominated members to the National Assembly will also increase from the current 12 to 22.This latest proposal comes in the backdrop of other parallel initiatives seeking amend the 2010 Constitution.
The bill also also seeks to have more women in the 47 county assemblies in yet another fresh effort to resolve the elusive gender parity.
This latest proposal comes in the backdrop of other parallel initiatives seeking amend the 2010 Constitution.
Currently, Punguza Mizigo Bill by Ekuru Aukot’s Third Way Alliance Party leader Ekuru Aukot is before the 47 county assemblies for approval before it can be subjected to a referendum.
In the Senate, the Bill proposes that each of the 47 counties elect a man and a woman, bringing the number of senators to 94.
The House will further nominate four persons with disability and two youths.“Clause 5 of the Bill proposes to amend Article 98 to provide for election of two members of the Senate of each gender by the electorate in the counties.
The clause also proposes the nomination of four persons with disability and two youths,” reads the Bill ready for tabling in the National Assembly.
In the National Assembly, the Bill wants the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to create electoral units that will be designated for women at least 12 months before a general election.
It proposes that two adjacent constituencies in each county be used as electoral units in electing the 136 women to the National Assembly.
This implies that a county with eight constituencies will have four women lawmakers in addition to the eight elected to represent the single consistencies, bringing the total number to 12.
But in counties with od number of constituencies, three constituencies with the least number of voters will be used as a single unit to elect a woman.
The proposal means the number of MPs in the two Houses will shoot to about 535 from the current 416.This is on assumption that the 290 constituencies will be used to create an additional 145 electoral units for women.
