Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) Bill No 2 of 2018

This Bill, also known as the Gender Bill or the Two-Third Gender Bill proposes to create special seats after every general elections which enable the two third gender rule to be fulfilled in parliament.

The Two Third Principle is a creation of the Constitution which states that not more than two-thirds of the membership of parliament shall be of the same gender. However, direct elections by themselves have been unable to satisfy this requirement since way fewer women are elected into parliament due to several factors. Since the composition of parliament does not satisfy this requirement, there is a risk of it being considered unconstitutionaly consituted.

To avoid similar predicaments, the Bill proposes that after every elections, as many women will be nominated to fill the necesary gap to make their composition at least 30%. This will be the case both in the National Assembly and Senate.

However, if passed, the Bill will only be in force for 20 years after it becomes law. This will cover 4 general elections. After that period, it is assumed that the citizenry will be able to vote in enough women in parliament

This article was written by
Derrick Makhandia of Mzalendo Trust .
It was published on July 20, 2018.