Push for referendum to reduce number of MPs long over due

“Punda Amechoka,” was a campaign popularised by Moses Kuria, in response to CORD’s Okoa Kenya referendum call. After Okoa Kenya’s spectacular collapse, MK’s drive was quietly tucked away and the energetic Gatundu MP moved on the more interesting stuff; Elections 2022. In reality the issues raised in the Punda Amechoka campaign did not go away despite its political owners having moved on. The fiscal impact and the reduced effectiveness of the legislature, both at the national and, county level, becomes more evident each year.

At present, Kenya boasts of 384 elected and 32 nominated Members of Parliament sitting in the National Assembly and the Senate. The counties boast of 1,450 elected and 774 nominated MCAs. These large numbers of MPs and MCAs represent a relatively small population of only 40 million Kenyans. It is heartening that Dr Ekuru Aukot’s Thirdway Alliance has taken the baton and is pushing for a referendum to reduce the number of MPs. However because of its minnow stature in Kenya’s political sphere, the matter has not attracted the interest that it deserves.