No lobbying ahead of vote on gender bill

Kenya Women Parliamentary Association members (KEWOPA) chairperson Cecily Mbarire and Priscilla Nyokabi addressing the media on the controversial one third gender rule in elective and apointive positions at parliament building. ON 07/05/15 PHOTO: JENIPHER WACHIE

MPs will today vote on a amendment that seeks to entrench the two-thirds gender rule in the Constitution.

But ahead of the crucial vote, neither Jubilee nor CORD convened a parliamentary group meeting to marshal numbers for the Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) Bill.

The bad news for the bill is that the vote comes on a day when MPs are expected to go on recess, and usually such sittings are poorly attended. The MPs are scheduled to go on a month-long recess this afternoon to allow committees time to scrutinise the national budget.

But that did not dampen the spirits of women lawmakers who have been pushing for the bill and lobbying their colleagues.

Women MPs who spoke to The Standard were last evening optimistic about today's vote to amend the Constitution to allow political parties to nominate more women to the two Houses of Parliament to meet the gender quota.

The women lawmakers said their nine colleagues who missed last week's vote would be present, and they hoped that more of the men who voted against the bill had changed their minds on the two-thirds gender rule.

"We have done our best. We have lobbied. The rest is up to the individual MPs. We don't know what will happen. Only God can tell, but we hope to prevail," said Mbita MP Millie Odhiambo, one of the women legislators who have been spearheading the process.

Justice and Legal Affairs Committee Vice Chairperson Priscilla Nyokabi (Nyeri) said there was "hope".

"We managed to get the numbers last week. We have been lobbying and we hope that with the nine woman MPs who were absent, plus all the male MPs who voted against the bill being in the House, we will get the numbers," said Ms Nyokabi last evening.

Runyenjes MP Cecily Mbarire put out a call for MPs to vote for the bill, sponsored by Majority Leader Aden Duale.

"We appreciate the 136 male MPs who voted for the bill last week, and we urge them to turn up for the vote tomorrow (today) to ensure that this bill passes," Ms Mbarire said.