Promoting Gender Equality and Women Political Participation in Kenyan County Assemblies: The Case of Machakos County

Kenya has signed and ratified a number of conventions and enacted a number of laws and policies to address the gender gap and at the same time promote equality and equity. These developments have been a result of women fighting for their rights over a long period of time. Currently, the Kenyan constitution 2010 provides for a two-thirds gender rule where no single-gender should occupy two-thirds of whichever positions in the public service sphere. This study uses a phenomenological approach to examine the extent of implementation of the two-thirds gender principle in the County Assemblies, specifically the Machakos County. The first and second parts of this project introduce this work and follow the history of the two-thirds gender rule, respectively. In analyzing the link between the two-thirds gender principle and the equality of districts, particular attention is paid to the County Assemblies practice, as seen in the standing orders that guide voting. At the same time, the concept of the head of the delegation, where a county delegation consists of both elected and appointed senators from a county, limits the substantive participation of women in the county assemblies. Candidate MCAs, who are predominantly women, cannot, therefore, vote based on the idea that their vote is in the head of the county delegation. One of the main findings is that current Senate practices, as seen in the Internal Guidelines on parliamentary voting, negatively affect the realization and enforcement of the two-thirds gender principle. The integrated approach to the link between the two-thirds gender principle and the equality of districts relies on a feminist framework to tackle procedural issues that affect the realization and operation of the two-thirds gender principle in the Kenyan County Assemblies based on the idea that their vote is with the head of the county delegation. One of the main findings is current County Assemblies practices, as seen in the Internal Guidelines for parliamentary voting, have adversely affected the realization and enforcement of the two-thirds gender principle.