Nakuru Woman Rep Liza Chelule has said women legislators will ensure the two-thirds gender bill passes.
Addressing media in Nakuru on Friday, Chelule said despite the bill failing to sail through in parliament on February 27, it can be brought back.
“It is so unfortunate that the bill has been in the house for long but as women legislators, we will not bow until it sails through,” said Chelule.
Failure by women MPs to lobby their male colleagues saw the elusive two-thirds gender rule bill flop for a record fourth time on February 27, 2019.
The bill seeks to bridge the gender disparity in the House by amending the Constitution to allow for extra nomination slots for women.
When Majority Leader Aden Duale responded to a motion to pave the way for voting, there were only 174 members in the House after a manual headcount in the chamber, meaning that the bill could not proceed to the next level.
Out of the 75 women lawmakers in the National Assembly, only about 20 were in the House, raising questions about the commitment of the Kenya Women Parliamentary Association (Kewopa), chaired by Kirinyaga Woman Representative Purity Ngirici, to the rule.
The Constitution provides that at least 233 of the 349 MPs, two-thirds of the members, must be in the House before the Speaker puts the question on the motion.
Consequently, the 233 members must proceed to vote on the bill to allow it to proceed to the next stage.
The bill can now only be reintroduced after six months, according to House standing orders.
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