Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna has today lauded the ODM party for what he terms as fulfilling their promises of achieving gender equality.
Taking to his X account, the ODM secretary general said that the party did not just make empty promises to include women in leadership, the results showed in the party's nominations.
Sifuna finished his statement by writing; "Kuna the ODM party alafu kuna wale wa kutenga."
"At ODM we don’t just make empty promises. In the last election all incumbent women MPs were handed direct tickets," Sifuna wrote.
"Nomination and registration fees for all first-time women aspirants in single constituency seats were waived."
Sifuna highlighted that in the last election, the party's national chairman John Mbadi stepped down for a woman to be elected the governor.
Incumbent Homabay Governor Gladys Wanga won the party nomination ticket to vie for the gubernatorial seat as Mbadi won the nomination to vie for a parliamentary seat for Suba South.
Gladys Wanga made history when she became the first female governor from the Nyanza region on an ODM ticket.
Sifuna also wrote about the party's nominations to Parliament, explaining how the ODM part has supported the two-third gender rule.
"We nominated brilliant young women like Umi Mohammed and Crystal Asige to Parliament," he wrote.
Former Sol Generation musician Crystal Asige was nominated to the Senate by ODM in 2022 to represent people with disabilities.
Asige uses her music to represent her artistic life and has been outspoken about the difficulties faced by people with disabilities.
Other women nominated by ODM are Hamida Ali Kibwana, Betty Batuli Montet, Catherine Muyeka Mumma, and Beatrice Akinyi Oyomo.
The Azimio senator noted that the ODM party has provided the most practical solution to implement the two-third gender rule because the first-past-the-post system simply won’t work.
The two-third gender rule is one of the affirmative actions enshrined in the Constitution of Kenya in Article 27 (8) of the Bill of Rights to help enhance equality.
It stipulates that no more than two-thirds of all elected or appointed government positions may be held by members of the same gender.
