Central wants 25 new MPs

By Patrick Muriungi and Moses Njagih

MPs in Mount Kenya region are demanding creation of at least 25 new constituencies before the 2012 General Election.

In Central Province, MPs argue with 29 constituencies and about three million voters, residents are under represented. They say some areas have been overlooked in past boundary reviews.

Meru region has nine constituencies and about 900,000 registered voters. The number is expected to be higher by the next General Election. Consequently, politicians are demanding eleven new constituencies.

And in the Embu leaders also want one more. The districts have four constituencies.

And with proposals of a parliamentary system of governance, many

MPs are clamouring for electoral boundaries’ review to ensure fairness in representation, a move they say should be pegged on a one man-one vote policy.

Topping the list of those agitating for creation of extra constituencies.

is Mathira MP Ephraim Maina, whose constituency has more than 98,326 registered voters.

Maina, who is also Central Kenya MPs forum chairman, says the voice in Parliament is not commensurate with its population.

"Representation in Parliament is on numbers. We should not have a few people enjoying better representation than others."

He says central Kenya is under represented in the House.

The MP says while constitutional review is important, creation of more constituencies should be apriority.

Maina said there should a threshold on the number of voters a constituency should have.

The MP with voter registration expected to reach the 100,000-mark, Mathira and other constituencies should be considered for a split.

Fair representation

" I represent about 100,000 voters and a population of close to 200,000 people, and so are many other MPs. This is an injustice as when we face off in the House we have a similar vote to those representing few constituents," he says.

Maina said that he recently successfully lobbied to have Mathira as a district as it qualifies due to high population.

If those with more than 80,000 voters were split, the province would have at least 12 new constituencies.

Juja represented in Parliament by Government Whip George Thuo has the highest number of registered voters totalling to more than 163,977.

Assistant Minister Mwangi Kiunjuri says that the region’s MPs will push for the adoption of the one man-one vote policy as a condition to enactment of a new constitution.

Kiunjuri, a supporter of the parliamentary system of governance, says that only a fair representation in Parliament would remedy the injustices being suffered by central Kenya.

The Water Assistant Minister is saying that while central Kenya MPs are ready to support an outsider for the presidency in 2012, they will only support a candidate who will agree to their request for creation of more constituencies in populous areas.

His Laikipia East constituency has about 79,279 registered voters while neighbouring Laikipia West has about 102,924 voters.

Most other areas have more than 100,000 registered voters, a fact he says, those who believed the election was stolen ignore.

One such area was Nithi constituency, with over 124,000 registered voters.

Statistics from the Electoral Commission of Kenya revealed that many of the constituencies in central Kenya have over 85,000 registered voters.

Maina says that such constituencies should be split to ensure fair representation.

In the greater Meru, the proposals to create extra constituencies were first presented to ECK last year.

Spirited campaigns

Proposals to split Nithi and North Imenti, which are among the largest in the country to have four extra constituencies, have been forwarded to the Electoral Commission for consideration.

Nithi MP and Agriculture Assistant Minister Japheth Kareke Mbiuki is leading a spirited campaign to have his constituency split.

Several other politicians who contested for the seat among them Mr Kaburu Njeru, Dr Riara Nthuraku and lawyer DJ Mbaya also want the vast constituency split.

President Kibaki split the constituency, which previously made up Meru South District, to create Maara District.

Mbiuki wants the new district made a constituency.

Save for Igamba Ng’ombe division which largely semi-arid, Nithi is largely agricultural and produces cash and food crops. Other divisions are the Muthambi, Chuka and Maara.

In North Imenti, represented by Silas Muriuki Ruteere, is also agitating for creation of an extra electoral area to be called Buuri.

The constituency, which has four administrative divisions of Miriga.

Mieru East, Miriga Mieru West, Timau and Buuri, is also among the Largest, with more than 130,000 registered voters.

After President Kibaki recently created the new Buuri district, thanks to intense lobbying by the MP, the residents now want the area also made a constituency, to be made up of Buuri and Timau divisions.

Tigania East MP Peter Munya whose constituency is also

relatively large compared to the neighbouring Tigania West and Igembe South has also been lobbying for its split.

A new district called Tigania East, hived off the larger Tigania District has recently been created.

The MP who is also the Assistant Minister for East African Co-operation believes the area is ripe, in terms of population and geographical size, for an extra constituency.

The other large constituency in Meru, is South Imenti whose voter registration is approaching 100,000.