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Kenya

Vote on two thirds gender bill ‘stood down’ amid quorum fears

Muturi says the House Business Committee will set a new date for the vote next week Tuesday/FILE

NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov 28 – National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi on Wednesday stood down the vote on the two thirds gender bill after the House failed to meet the 233 members needed for the bill to sail through.

Muturi’s decision preceded a heated exchange on the floor of the House, where members were split on whether to have the vote take place.

Upon listening to various submissions of Members of Parliament from both sides of the political divide, Muturi ruled that the House Business Committee will set a new date for the vote on Tuesday next week.

“On the request of the Leader of Majority and having heard the submissions of the lawmakers, I direct that the business appearing in the Order Paper be stood down. The House Business Committee will convene next week at the rise of the House to consider when next this business may appear on the Order Paper because this issue is of a grave matter,” he ruled.

Muturi’s decision was received with pleasure from lawmakers who are keen to have the Bill sail through and increase the number of women parliamentarians in Parliament.

National Assembly Majority Leader Aden Duale who sponsored the bill requested the House to defer the vote to a later date to allow more lobbying.

“I am conscious after consulting the House leadership and more so the whips, I am conscious that should we proceed to attempt to take the vote we risk losing the Bill.” he cautioned.

The Constitution under Article 256 dictates that for a Bill to sail through, 233 of the 349 MPs are needed to give it a nod to pass.

Duale said: “It is not rocket science that the House does not have enough members to have the Bill pass and as the Leader of the House and the sponsor of this Bill I do not want history to judge me harshly. This is not an ordinarily Bill and I want to urge members to support me so that we can lobby more and have the Bill passed,” he said.

Duale hinted that the MPs will vote for the Bill in February next year when he will be convinced that he has enough backing from the lawmakers.

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The Garissa Township lawmaker’s request to halt the vote was backed by Minority Leader John Mbadi who said that it was prudent to have the vote on the Bill deferred to allow for more time to lobby for more votes especially from members who are opposed to it.

“A mover of a motion can at any time seek the indulgence of the Speaker to withdraw the vote on the Bill and so there is nothing out of the ordinary with what Duale is requesting. Considering the magnitude of the Bill, it is just proper that the vote be postponed,” he said.

Minority Whip Junet Mohammed and Kiminini MP Chris Wamalwa dismissed Duale’s request that the House was experiencing a quorum hitch, and said NASA was ready for the vote.

“We have discussed it… we have lobbied and prayed for it and Speaker this is a Bill that we need to dispense off. I have not seen recently this House full as it is now,” said Junet.

Other MPs led by Murang’a Woman Representative Sabina Chege and her Homabay Counterpart Gladys Wanga were among MPs who wanted voting postponed to pave way for more lobbying insisting that the bill has to be passed.

The debate that started last week on Tuesday saw MPs divided whether to support or oppose the bill.

Some like Kimilili Member of Parliament Didmus Barasa mobilized his colleagues to reject the bill.

Barasa said he is not opposed to women being given leadership positions but the criteria that will be used in the nomination selection is not clearly outlined.

“I support women to be in leadership, but we must get women of substance and people who will add value in our society. This Bill however leaves the decision on who will be nominated with few individuals who might be biased and end up bringing their girlfriends to Parliament,” said Barasa.

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On their part, Machakos Woman Representative Joyce Kamene and her former Wajir counterpart Fatuma Ali urged MPs to accept and pass the Bill saying more women in politics are still facing gender related challenges thus need a voice of their own.

“We need more women to ensure that issues affecting women are well addressed in Parliament because there are some sensitive issues that require women attention and if we leave all the decisions to be made by our male colleagues then we might end up suffering and the only way to do this is through nominating women who still face challenges during elections,” Kamene said.

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