APRM • SECOND COUNTRY REVIEW REPORT OF THE REPUBLIC OF KENYA to date, there is no law. 184. Parliament extended the deadline for enacting this law by a year from 27 August 2017. At the time of the CRM, the issue had not yet been resolved. However, Constitutional Petition 371 was filed on 5 September 2016 by two prominent women’s organisations. The essence of the petition is that less than a year from the date of filing, parliament has not enacted a law to implement the two thirds gender principle despite the deadline being extended by Parliament to 27 August 2016 from the unmet deadline of 27 August 2015. The petition contends that Parliament no longer has powers to make another extension and yet the two-thirds gender principle must be implemented before the next general elections are held. The petition seek among other things a declaration that both the Senate and the National Assembly have failed in their Constitutional obligations to give effect to the two thirds gender principle and that the Parliament together with the Attorney General should enact the required legislation within the stipulated time, failing which the Chief Justice would advise the President to dissolve the Parliament. 185. At the county level, adherence to the two-thirds gender principle yielded positive results. 82 women (5%) were elected out of the total 1,450 seats for the ward assemblies and 680 were nominated in order to meet the two-thirds rule, leading to 34% women in county assemblies. However only 6 women were elected out of 47 Deputy Governors and no female governor or senator woman was elected. 186. The available statistics indicate that women did not vie for elective posts in large numbers. Six women vied for the position of governor (3%), 17 for senate (7%), 124 women for parliament (6%), and 632 women for county assemblies (6%). Reasons ascribed to this low turnout all point to deliberate and sustained hostile environments that threaten gender based violence and intimidation and harassment overall from male opponents. Notwithstanding, women are not being voted for by fellow men and women largely because of the way societies are constructed; leadership is viewed as male territory and preserve. There were also reports of communities being misinformed that women could only stand within the dedicated affirmative action seats and not in the mainstream seats. However, the role of parties in the low number of female candidates came under scrutiny. 187. Observers and critiques of the conduct of elections at the political party level cited failure in complying with prescribed regulations and procedures to consolidate the two-thirds gender principle, absence of fair and transparent internal elections and marginalisation of women in the governing bodies. These failures resulted in many parties not fronting a minimum of thirty percent of women on the party list for elections for the public to vote for. The Political Parties Act 2011 did not specifically allocate affirmative action seats for women although the Registrar of Political Parties issued gender responsive guidelines to the political parties in this respect. While most parties have women leagues, political parties do not seem willing or prepared to share power to women and nominate them apart from seats for women representatives. | 109 |