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Kenyan women won smartly in the 9 August elections, winning 26 seats in parliament. Many feel this is a good augury and a further step towards gender parity. A record number of women candidates, including three who were running for the four presidential candidates, were in the fray
Kenyan women won smartly in the 9 August elections, winning 26 seats in parliament. Many feel this is a good augury and a further step towards gender parity. A record number of women candidates, including three who were running for the four presidential candidates, were in the fray.
Last Tuesday, 22.1 million voters elected a new president. They also chose 290 deputies, 47 senators, 47 county governors, and 1,450 members of county assemblies. Of the 16,100 candidates, Kenyans elected 26 female MPs, up from 23 in 2017. Also, seven female governors were elected, increasing the number from three in 2017, and three female senators.
Importantly, women won in the politically influential counties of Kirinyaga and Machakos, and Meru. In the Rift Valley town of Nakuru, women won eight positions, including a governor and a senator. The political landscape in Kenya has remained predominantly male and the implementation of parity has been a far cry.
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The 2010 Constitution stipulates a one-third gender balance for women in Parliament. But the two male-dominated chambers have never passed a law to that effect. Despite that, the number of elected women had already risen in 2017 to about 20% of the National Assembly. However, Kenya is still far behind some of its neighbours, such as Rwanda, in terms of parity.
