On November 20, 2018, Nasa leaders renewed pressure on MPs to pass the two-thirds gender Bill, saying Parliament has dragged its feet for too long on women’s representation.
The legislation, sponsored by Majority Leader Aden Duale, was due for debate that day and aimed to create at least 22 additional nominated seats for women in Parliament.
Nasa leader Raila Odinga said the House had repeatedly denied women equal political space. In a statement, he argued that the Bill was intended to advance the constitutional promise of equality and freedom from discrimination under the 2010 Constitution.
Co-principals Kalonzo Musyoka and Musalia Mudavadi also threw their weight behind the proposal, saying its benefits outweighed concerns about the wage bill. Critics of the Bill have argued that more MPs would increase public spending.
“If passed into law, the Bill will streamline the activities of not only women but all Kenyans in national politics and policy making,” Musalia said.
Kalonzo warned that Parliament could face dissolution if it remained improperly constituted under the two-thirds gender rule. He said some male MPs had in the past frustrated the Bill through refusal to support it or by walking out during voting to deny the House the numbers needed for passage.
The two leaders made their remarks at their respective party headquarters after receiving a delegation from the Kenya Women Parliamentarians Association (Kewopa). The women leaders had visited them to seek support for the Bill.
The issue had already floundered in the last Parliament after male lawmakers walked out and defeated a similar motion. The current proposal required the backing of two-thirds of the House, or 233 MPs, to pass.
Article 81 of the Constitution requires that not more than two-thirds of the members of elective public bodies be of the same gender. On August 29, more than 40 female MPs entered the House in white head scarfs to push the debate forward and protest what they described as frustration from male colleagues.
President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto had also previously urged lawmakers to support the Bill. Speaking at a fundraiser at PCEA Berea Church in Gachororo, Juja town, on Sunday, Uhuru said the earlier version had been amended and that the number of seats had been reduced in line with the Constitution. He asked MPs to pass the Bill so the country could show it had complied with constitutional requirements.
Uhuru also said he would help more women win elective seats in the next general election, but challenged them to stop relying on nominations and instead compete for elective positions.
Ruto, for his part, told MPs to set aside selfish interests and support women, noting that they make up half the population. He said it would be wrong to lock women out of leadership.
At the time, the National Assembly had 76 women members, made up of 23 elected MPs, 47 women representatives and six nominated members. The Senate had 21 women members, including 19 nominated and three elected.
Kenya’s female representation remained low at 22 per cent of MPs. Rwanda, at 61 per cent, and Ethiopia, at 50 per cent, were the only African countries cited as having met the two-thirds gender rule.
The Bill also proposed limiting nominations to Parliament or county assemblies to two terms.
