Nairobi, KENYA: Women members of parliament have vowed to launch an onslaught on the referendum bid and to overturn it after it emerged that the 2/3 gender rule vote flopped again in parliament on Wednesday afternoon.
In a press briefing at parliament buildings after the exercise, the female MPs led by Kenya Women parliamentarians Association, KEWOPA, chair Purity wangui Ngirichi and Kandara mp Alice Wahome blasted parliament leadership and the government as a whole for failing to lobby for the vote to sail through.
“This afternoon we are extremely disappointed, as the women of Kenya, as members of parliament, as KEWOPA we have walked a long journey to reach where we have reached,” Wahome said.
“With 174 voters obviously we were not going to have a vote, but we know the leader of majority, who is the owner of this bill was not committed, we have not heard him mobilizing, the government of Kenya is not committed, ” she added.
Following the development, they have vowed to overturn the referendum push by vehemently opposing it pointing that there is no need to uphold the referendum bid and yet some components in the 2010 constitution including the realization of 2/3 gender rule are not in place.
“Until this bill is delivered we shall say no to the referendum,” Wahome said.
They said that parliament should be dissolved after it failed during the third time to pass the said constitution amendment bill.
They also vowed to paralyze the parliamentary budget process to air their anger against what transpired during the anticipated 2/3 gender rule vote.
