Kenya livestock marketing council chairman Dubat Amey has dismissed as laughable an attempt to reserve elective seats for women.
Uasin Gishu Woman Representative Gladys Shollei has tabled a bill in the National Assembly to have 136 constituencies elect women as MPs.
The Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) Bill, 2019, is designed to achieve the elusive two-thirds gender balance in Parliament, Shollei says.
But Amey on Monday said reserving seats for women is uncalled for. He said women are educated and can fairly compete with men and win elections.
“If our own Sophia Abdi could beat men to secure the Ijara parliamentary seat in a region that rarely supports women, then the likes of Shollei can also win easily," Amey said at a press conference in Garissa town.
He said regions that previously shunned electing women have now changed and female aspirants have the freedom to conduct their campaigns.
He accused women leaders of ganging up to pursue their own interests without taking into account the economic challenges.
“Our political leaders have repeatedly demonstrated that their selfish interests come first. We've heard some of them say there are no funds for a referendum advocate for an increase of their salaries and allowances,” Amey said.
Shollei's bill was tabled in the assembly on Wednesday and has 90 days to mature from the date of introduction before the House Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs presents a report for debate. Shollei also wants nomination slots to the National Assembly increased from 12 to 22.
“The bill seeks to amend the Constitution to ensure the number of MPs reflects the requirement of Article 27 that no more than two-thirds of the members of elective or appointive bodies shall be of the same gender,” the bill reads.
Amey who was a delegate during the drafting of the Constitution in 2010 opposed the bid to increase the number of MPs.
He cited India, one of the largest democracies in the world with a population of 1.3 billion but only 445 lawmakers.
“That our MPs want the number of seats in Parliament increased beats logic. We already have too many lawmakers compared to countries that practice democracy like ours,” Amey said.
He praised the Punguza Mizigo Bill but called for its shelving until the report by the Building Bridges Initiative is finalised.
Amey said the Punguza Mizigo Bill has some good ideas that can be harmonised by the recommendations from the BBI.
Edited by peter obuya
