An MP whose constituency could be scrapped over low population has advised residents to hasten giving birth before next year’s national census.
Mbeere North MP Muriuki Njagagua says this will help meet the threshold required to create or retain a constituency.
He said if the area will not have reached the 133,000 population mark, which is the requirement to sustain a parliamentary seat, the constituency might be scrapped or be merged with another one.
“I urge you to hasten in giving birth to more children so that when the counting of the people is done you will have hit the limit and thus our constituency will be retained,” said Njagagua.
He spoke in Siakago town during a funds-drive for the Siakago Catholic Church on Sunday. Njagagua said he won’t let the constituency be scrapped and will do anything to ensure to avoid that possibility.
Senate deputy speaker Kindiki Kithure, who accompanied the MP, also promised to fight for the retention of the constituency so that the people can continue benefitting from national resources.
Kindiki and Njagagua said even if the area will not have reached the 133,000 population limit, they will not allow its scrapping.
Mbeere North is among 27 constituencies that did not meet the population criteria in the 2012 boundary review.
Their fate now hangs in the balance after the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission said they will be scrapped in the upcoming evaluation.
IEBC chairman Wafula Chebukati last week said the boundaries will be reviewed after the March 24-25, 2019 census, which will determine the population required for a constituency to maintain its status.
During the last review, the population threshold was set at 133,000 but the 27 constituencies were spared the axe in 2012.
Njagagua said he hopes when the census comes his constituency, which has a population of 52,000 registered voters, will have hit the qualification as more children are born.
He said resources in the country are distributed according to constituencies and if a constituency is scrapped its people will be discriminated against.
The constituency, which was carved out of Embu East in 1983, was known as Siakago constituency before being renamed Mbeere North.