The 2/3 Gender bill was expected to elicit a number of divergent opinions not just in Parliament but also among Kenyans. It has surely lived to it’s expectations.
It seems like not even the lobbying done by Kenyan Women Parliamentarians will count in their favour. The Women Parliamentarians held meetings not just with President Kenyatta but also with William Ruto, Raila Odinga and Kalonzo Musyoka. All this was in a bid to drum up support for the proposed bill.
The leaders in turn asked members of Parliament to ensure that the bill passed so that the country conforms to the requirements of the new constitution.
It seems like their calls fell on deaf ears with an even larger number of MPs now coming out to now oppose the proposed bill.
Some of the MPs opposed to it have stated that the proposed bill won’t work. They have said that the bill will not empower women to clinch leadership positions but will only bloat the House.
“While this is a good step in trying to fix the problem of having few women representatives in this House, it is a lazy way of going about it,” he said. “Let’s bite the bullet and make a proper legislation that will ensure the women are also represented here. Otherwise this is too lazy and won’t work.” said Tongaren MP Eseli Simiyu
Simiyu told the House that the electoral system should be overhauled to ensure election of 290 MPs complies with the two-thirds gender rule.
“We need to look at proportional representation so we have 290 who will be gender-balanced. The disabled and the youth will also be included without necessarily bloating this House out of proportion,” the Ford Kenya lawmaker said.
Other MPs also decried the enormous wage bill that will come with the passage of the bill.
“We need to consider the cost that Kenyans will incur to cater for this representation. It’s high time we considered the number of Kenyans who would be introduced to this House,” Said Endebess MP Robert Pukose
The legislators are expected to either endorse or reject it today. The bill requires the support of 233 MPs (two thirds of all the members) to pass. If it sails through the House and is assented to by the President, it will be effective after the 2022 General Election.
Currently, there are 76 women in the National Assembly — 23 elected MPs, 47 woman representatives and six nominated MPs. The Senate has 21 women —19 nominated and three elected members. The National Assembly has 349 members while the Senate has 67.
Duale has maintained that it is crucial for the 12th Parliament to safeguard the Constitution by endorsing the bill.
“We need to make a decision as a House to actualise the provision in the Constitution that has not been implemented since 2010,” he said.
What’s Your take on the proposed 2/3 Gender Bill?
