Speaker Justin Muturi ordered the fresh vote last week after only 195 MPs voted in favour of the Bill while it required the support of at least 233 lawmakers to pass/FILE
NAIROBI, Kenya, May 5 – A fresh vote on a Bill that seeks the realisation of the two-thirds gender principle was set to take place Thursday afternoon in the National Assembly.
Speaker Justin Muturi ordered the fresh vote last week after only 195 MPs voted in favour of the Bill while it required the support of at least 233 lawmakers to pass.
In his ruling, Muturi cautioned MPs against failure to cast their votes after it emerged that some did not register their abstentions as required.
MPs Cecily Mbarire (Runyenjes) and Johnson Sakaja (Nominated) called for disciplinary action to be taken against the errant MPs.
At the time of voting, 247 MPs were present in the House.
READ: MPs fail again on two-thirds gender vote but get lifeline
The Bill tabled by Majority Leader Aden Duale seeks to ‘top up’ the number of women in the National Assembly should the general election fail to meet the constitutional threshold.
The Duale Bill further provides for the achievement of the gender principle in Parliament within 20 years from the 2017 polls.
It also provides that persons nominated serve for a maximum of two terms.
It further seeks to amend various electoral laws, including the Political Parties Act, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Act, and the National Gender and Equality Commission (NGEC) Act, to effect Article 100 of the Constitution that seeks to promote representation of marginalised groups.
The National Assembly failed to meet last year’s August deadline for enactment of the law, which would place more women in leadership through affirmative action.
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