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Two Third Gender Rule Implementation in Kenya
By Guest Author | Mon, 10/08/2012 04:01PM -0400
The National assembly representatives from the 290 constituencies should comprise winners and best losers. If all the constitutional provisions are obeyed, then all the winners should join the parliament. Should we fall short of the threshold of 1/3rd representation of any gender then best losers among the disfavored gender should be picked fairly across the country and elevated to become MPs until constitutional threshold is achieved. Best loser need not be a runner up. The number of best losers elevated in a county should not be more by 1 than any other county.
The elevated best looser should be judged by the proportion of registered votes garnered in the respective constituencies but he/she should not replace an elected MP whose party has achieved threshold of 1/3rd of countrywide gender representation (elected MPs) or the best loser should not replace a person registered as disabled by a legal authority in Kenya until all possible replacements are exhausted. In this case the next best looser should be elevated. Best loser from a political party that did not comply with gender equity rule at nomination level or who is private contestant should not replace an elected person whose party complied.
The challenge of picking the best losers could be a subject of debate but the specifics I provide lend themselves to constructive and progressive improvement in case no one else has a better solution. This proposal accords with article 27(3) of the constitution which states that ‘Women and men have the right to equal treatment, including the right to equal opportunities in political, economic, cultural and social spheres', i.e. no gender is favored. Article 27 (6) and (8) of constitution directs the state to take legislative and other measures including affirmative action program to implement the principles that not more than two-thirds of the members of elective or appointive bodies shall be of the same gender. Filibustering on this rule is not an option.
By Odipo Osano
The views expressed on this op-ed/blog are solely those of the author and do not reflect the opinions of Mwakilishi News Media, or any other individual, organization, or institution. The content on this op-ed/blog is not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, or individual. The author himself is responsible for the content of the posts on this op-ed/blog, not any other organization or institution which he might be seen to represent. The author is not responsible, nor will he be held liable, for any statements made by others on this op-ed/blog in the op-ed blog comments, nor the laws which they may break in this country or their own, through their comments’ content, implication, and intent. The author reserves the right to delete comments if and when necessary. The author is not responsible for the content or activities of any sites linked from this op-ed/blog. Unless otherwise indicated, all translations and other content on here are original works of the op-ed/blog author and the copyrights for those works belong to the author.
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Wed, 10/10/2012 05:27AM -0400
#1
Implication Osano proposal on 2/3rd gender rule:
The need to mobilize all Kenyans of both genders to participate in leadership cannot be gainsaid. My suggestion has a range of implications. Most importantly, it does not favor any gender, party or person prior to the elections event. The ‘best loser’ may not even obtain if the political parties nominate equitable numbers of each gender. Party ticket is the most important key success factor in elections in Kenya and biased nominations presents the most formidable barrier to gender equity. The proposal spreads its application countrywide and instills gender sensitivity in the parties. It encourages parties to invest in both genders so that they succeed in attaining two key thresholds i.e. those nominated and those succeeding at elections. The expected equitable parliament will gain the experience of working in a more gender balanced environment. Both the nominated and elected members will gain the requisite electioneering experience and advantages of incumbency in the successive elections so that the efforts to achieve gender equity will be considerably lessened.
Mathematics is applied when we mention 2/3rd and in our presidential elections. When a fair formula is known, mathematics can be applied extensively to solve a number of social problems. Basically, the world was relieved from the great depression of 1950s by application of Keynesian mathematics and fair countrywide representation in USA is tinctured with some mathematics eg USA elections of 2000.
Fellow Kenyans, let us agree that our cherished voluntary elections fall short in many ways. MPs seldom gain majority of the casted votes and worse, when we correct for the voter turnout and total constituency population who are qualified to vote, then a number of representations are doubtful. In Kenya we only vote for those we like and who are listed in the ballot; we do not have the option of voting ‘no’ or ‘none of the above’ to those we do not like. A person not liked by majority in a constituency can become MP. We need to understand that by voting for the constitution we unequivocally (since we voted no and yes) voted to have not less than 1/3rd of any gender in the parliament. That was our conscious desire and it is a good one.The need to mobilize all Kenyans of both genders to participate in leadership cannot be gainsaid. My suggestion has a range of implications. Most importantly, it does not favor any gender, party or person prior to the elections event. The ‘best loser’ may not even obtain if the political parties nominate equitable numbers of each gender. Party ticket is the most important key success factor in elections in Kenya and biased nominations presents the most formidable barrier to gender equity. The proposal spreads its application countrywide and instills gender sensitivity in the parties. It encourages parties to invest in both genders so that they succeed in attaining two key thresholds i.e. those nominated and those succeeding at elections. The expected equitable parliament will gain the experience of working in a more gender balanced environment. Both the nominated and elected members will gain the requisite electioneering experience and advantages of incumbency in the successive elections so that the efforts to achieve gender equity will be considerably lessened.
Mathematics is applied when we mention 2/3rd and in our presidential elections. When a fair formula is known, mathematics can be applied extensively to solve a number of social problems. Basically, the world was relieved from the great depression of 1950s by application of Keynesian mathematics and fair countrywide representation in USA is tinctured with some mathematics eg USA elections of 2000.
Fellow Kenyans, let us agree that our cherished voluntary elections fall short in many ways. MPs seldom gain majority of the casted votes and worse, when we correct for the voter turnout and total constituency population who are qualified to vote, then a number of representations are doubtful. In Kenya we only vote for those we like and who are listed in the ballot; we do not have the option of voting ‘no’ or ‘none of the above’ to those we do not like. A person not liked by majority in a constituency can become MP. We need to understand that by voting for the constitution we unequivocally (since we voted no and yes) voted to have not less than 1/3rd of any gender in the parliament. That was our conscious desire and it is a good one.
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