• The leaders said that failure to meet the directive is one way of disadvantaging women aspirants, many of whom have been thrown off the bus.
• They said It goes to show that we are still giving lip service to inclusion in general and gender inclusion in particular.
The Women Mediators Network of Kenya in conjunction with the African Women Leaders Network (ALWN) and Women aspirants are calling for political parties to uphold the two-thirds gender rule.
In a press statement read by ALWN Chairperson Dr Jennifer Riria, the leaders called for compliance with the constitutional provisions.
“Despite the insistence by both the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties (ORPP) and the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to respect gender representation in their Party Lists, some parties including major ones, did not fulfil this,” she said.
She said that they stand with the Chairman of the IEBC that such non-compliant Political Parties should have been disqualified from participating in the general elections.
“While we shall respect the orders of the Court in respect to this matter, we agree that such parties should be disqualified from participating in the elections on account of their failure to include at least one-third of women in their respective party lists,” Dr Riria said.
She said that failure to do so is one way of disadvantaging women aspirants, many of whom have been thrown off the bus.
“It goes to show that we are still giving lip service to inclusion in general and gender inclusion in particular,” she added.
Dr Riria said that women aspirants continue to be targeted due to their political aspirations.
The leaders demanded adequate security for women aspirants.
“We demand adequate security for such women, some of whom are known to us and urge our security apparatus including the Inspector General of Police to move with speed to arrest and charge perpetrators so that this barbarism is nipped at the bud,” Riria said.
She urged women aspirants to speak out against any form of violence directed against them
“We urge all women who may experience violence to speak and reach out for help and not get discouraged to the point of despair. We wish to tell all duty bearers that this time round, women are watching and will not keep quiet in the face of violations,” she concluded.