Nominations sway membership, gender balance in the assemblies

The publication of a gazette notice listing nominated Members of County Assembly (MCAs) has brought a balance to the Houses that had a glaring imbalance in representation.

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) on Monday published the names of nominated MCAs in the Kenya Gazette, distributing the slots under gender top-up and marginalised categories.

In most county assemblies, the majority of the nomination slots went to women because men had clinched most of the elective seats.

The assemblies will experience a change in total membership and gender composition following a shift in elected members by gender which has affected the distribution of nomination slots. Some of the county assemblies have been forced to nominate more women, increasing their membership, while those with more elected women will nominate a few for gender top-up.

A few county assemblies, however, will have constant membership and gender representation.

The second Nakuru County Assembly had a total membership of 78 MCAs out of which 55 were elected and 23 were nominated members. The third assembly will, however, have 75 members, three members less after more women clinched elective seats.

The county assembly was fully constituted on Tuesday after the IEBC gazetted 20 nominated members.

In the September 12 gazette notice, IEBC listed 16 women under the gender top-up category as compared to 19 gazetted in 2017.

Four other members have been gazetted to represent minorities, persons living with disability, the marginalized, and the youth. Out of the 20 positions, the United Democratic Alliance (UDA), which controls the majority in the House, nominated 16 while Jubilee and ODM nominated three and one, respectively.

"We have already inducted the elected members and will do the same for those nominated. We are waiting for the governor to gazette the first sitting," said Nakuru County Assembly Clerk Joseph Malinda.

In 2017, Baringo County Assembly, which has 30 elective seats, had 15 nominated members. The total membership will however be retained although with a tilt in gender representation.

The former assembly had only two elected women, leading to the nomination of 13 women and two men under the various categories.

The new Baringo County Assembly will, however, have three elected women hence a drop in the number of nominated women to 12 with men taking up three positions. The 15 nominations slots were shared among three political parties with UDA taking 11, Kanu 3, and ODM one.

Laikipia County, which has fifteen wards, will have two women elected as MCAs. In 2017, the Laikipia County Assembly had a total of 24 members, nine among them nominated. The nine positions had been shared with seven going to women and two to men.

The incoming county assembly will, however, have a drop in total membership to 21 after the IEBC only gazetted six members.

The six include two women for gender top-up, three others to represent marginalized groups while only one man was nominated to represent the minority.

Nyandarua County Assembly, which has 25 elective seats, had 38 members, 13 of whom were nominated in 2017. Out of the 25 elected members, two were women. The 13 nomination slots went to 10 women and three men. The incoming Nyandarua County Assembly will have an increased membership from 38 to 41.

The IEBC listed 12 women for gender top-up while four positions for marginalized groups have been given to three men and one woman.