Download “Gender Mainstreaming in the Electoral Administration – The

“Gender Mainstreaming in the Electoral Administration
– The Kenyan Experience”
A Paper presented by Ahmed Issack Hassan, EBS
Chairperson, Independent Electoral and Boundaries
Commission (IEBC).
At the international Conference on Gender Mainstreaming in
Electoral Administration: Challenges and Comparative
perspectives,
In Cairo, Egypt on 10-11 Dec 2014
“Any woman who understands the problems of running a home
will be nearer to understanding the problems of running a
country” – Margret Thatcher
AHMED ISSACK HASSAN, EBS
Chairperson’s Biography
Mr. Ahmed Issack Hassan is currently the Chairperson of the Independent
Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) of the Republic of Kenya. He
graduated from the University of Nairobi in 1992 with a Bachelor’s degree in
Law, Second Class Honours Upper Division, and thereafter proceeded to
obtain a Post-Graduate Diploma in Law from the Kenya School of Law in 1994.
He was admitted to the Bar as an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya on 23rd
of February 1995. He has been in private legal practice since then.
Mr. Issack is also a Certified Public Secretary of Kenya (CPSK) and a member
of the Law Society of Kenya (LSK), East African Law Society (EALS),
International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) (Kenya Chapter), Institute of
Certified Public Secretaries of Kenya (ICPS), Association of Professional
Societies of East Africa (APSEA), Commonwealth Lawyers Association (CLA)
and the International Bar Association (IBA).
He has served as Chair of the East African Community – Electoral Commission
Forum (EAC – ECF), a member of the Steering Committee of the Formation of
the Association of African Electoral Authorities (AAEA) and Steering
Committee member of the Commonwealth Election Network (CEN). In its
inaugural General Assembly Meeting in Seoul, South Korea in October 2012,
Mr. Issack was elected to serve on the Audit and Oversight Committee of the
Association of World Election Bodies (A-WEB) for three years.
In June 2014, at its Bi-annual conference in Nairobi, Kenya the Commonwealth
Election Network, Mr. Issack was elected as the Chairperson of the
Commonwealth Election Network Steering Committee (CEN-SC) for a period
of two years.
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Introduction
Although women represent 52% of the population in Kenya and a similar
percentage in the voters roll, they have remained marginalized in the political
process in the country. Several factors account for this state of affairs
including the following:
 Men dominate the political stage and set the rules of the political
game and women lack confidence in vying for political leadership.
 Political life is organized according to male norms and values, which
set the standards through which political achievement is judged.
These often emphasize aggression and long hours spent outside the
family set-up.
 Short changing of women during political party nominations.
 The nature of the electoral system, which may not be favourable to
women candidates.
 Inability to utilise women’s voting power and numerical strength.
 Ignorance and illiteracy.
 Lack of material and financial resources.
 Lack of capacity to accommodate women’s leadership.
 Lack of sustained Government support for women’s political
empowerment through affirmative action.
The country adopted a new Constitution in August 2010 which has set the
basic foundation for ensuring the success of gender mainstreaming in
elections and electoral administration. The implementation of the new
constitution has seen a lot of gains for the struggle for women’s rights to
participate in the governance of the country.
This paper will address the National state of gender mainstreaming in
elections and electoral process and the role the Independent Electoral and
Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has played in promoting women’s
participation in the electoral process and integrating the gender perspectives
in its activities.
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Legal Framework Underpinning Gender Mainstreaming in the Electoral
Administration and Process
Two-Thirds Rule of Gender Representation…
The Constitution of Kenya makes the general rules of international law and
any treaty or convention ratified by Kenya, as forming part of the laws of
Kenya. This has in effect ensured the domestication of international
conventions and treaties such as the Universal Declaration of Human rights
(UDHR), International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR),
Convention for the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women
(CEDAW) and others.
The Constitution now guarantees full and equal right of women to participate
in the socio-economic and political affairs of the country. It has also
institutionalized the 1/3 rule which requires that all elective and appointive
bodies in the country must not have more than 2/3 of one gender.
Article 27(8) of the Constitution of Kenya states that: In addition to the
measures contemplated in clause (6), the State shall take legislative and other
measures to implement the principle that not more than two-thirds of the
members of elective or appointive bodies shall be of the same gender. (In
effect this is meant to act as an affirmative action to ensure that there are 1/3
women in every elective and appointive body in Kenya). This has not been
achieved in every sector but there is a progress in achieving this goal.
The electoral Commission as well has been mandated to adhere to the twothirds rule according to Article 81 which states: The electoral system shall
comply with the following principles—(b) not more than two-thirds of the
members of elective public bodies shall be of the same gender.
The Constitution has set the framework to guarantee that 1/3 of the Members
of Parliament (MPs) in the National Assembly, Senate and the Executive are
women. It also requires all statutory and Constitutional Commissions to have
1/3 women of the total number and for the chair and vice-chair to be of the
opposite sex.
The Judiciary has ensured that 1/3 of the Judges in the Supreme Court, Court
of Appeal, High Court and Magistrates Court are women. The Senate has 1/3
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women as well as all the 47 County Assemblies. The National Assembly is yet
to achieve the 1/3 rule and the Supreme Court has rendered an advisory
opinion that measures should be put in place to ensure that 1/3 of the
National Assembly are women (the measures are to be put in place by August
2015).
In the Executive Arm of the Government, the President has appointed 1/3
women to his cabinet, including giving the crucial ministries of Defence and
Foreign Affairs to women. He has also appointed 7 female Permanent
Secretaries out of the total 26 Permanent Secretaries, translating to 26.9%
while in the diplomatic service the President has appointed 15 women
Ambassadors or 23.8% of the country’s diplomatic corps.
The Role of the Electoral Commission in Gender Mainstreaming In
Electoral Administration and Process
The Commission is a Constitutional Commission established under Article 88
of the Constitution. As a state organ, the Commission is bound by the
Constitution and obliged to implement the letter and spirit of the Constitution
in enhancing the role and participation of women in election administration
and process.
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) is a permanent
body established under the Constitution with the following mandate:
Conducting elections for all elective positions and referenda
Boundary delimitation for constituencies and wards
Voter registration and voter education
Settling disputes arising out of political party nominations
Investigation and prosecution of election offences
Monitoring and evaluating the amount of money to be spent by
candidates and political parties in elections
 Ensuring parties comply with the law on submission of party list for
the special seats received for women in parliament and in the county
assemblies
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The Independent Electoral Commission and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) is
made up of 9 Commissioners and a Secretariat. The Chairperson and 8
Commissioners are appointed for a single term of 6 years and are responsible
for policy and oversight. They also employ staff of the commission. Three of
the Commissioners are women. The Vice-Chairperson is elected by the
Commissioners and must be of the opposite gender of the chairperson.
Currently the Vice-Chair is a lady because the Chair is a man.
The Secretariat is led by a Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), assisted by 8 directors
(4 of whom are ladies) and over 50 managers (out of whom 17 are ladies).
The Commission also has 17 Regional Election Coordinators (RECs) (5 of
whom are ladies) and 290 Constituency Election Coordinators (CECs) (15%
being ladies).
During General Elections and the Referendum the Commission employs over
240,000 temporary staff as presiding officers, polling clerks and support staff
out of this female staff account for over 30%.
The voter registration process and the vote in terms of gender
In an effort to enhance the participation of women in the electoral process, the
Commission leads by example (internally) and takes deliberate policy actions
to enable women participate fully in the Country’s political process as voters,
candidates, elected officials and as nominated members of legislative
assemblies.
The Commission with the support of UNDP and UN women, has began the
training of all its senior staff on gender mainstreaming in the election process
and is now rolling out similar training for other stakeholders, such as the
political parties and religious leaders.
Either through the influence of strongly held religious beliefs or deep rooted
traditional and customary norms and practices, the Kenyan society is largely
conservative and patrilineal and this places hurdles on the efforts by women
to fully participate in the political process in the country.
Few examples will suffice:
 Some Muslims who believe women cannot be leaders and should not be
so elected (fundamentalist view). In some parts of the Country,
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inhabited by Muslims, some male voters refuse to vote for Women
Representative to the National Assembly (special seat for women).
 Communities that consider a woman who is married, not to belong to
her ancestral home anymore and should not contest or be nominated
for any elective positions from her home region. (Maasai saying –
“women and cattle have no borders”). This view also applies to inheriting
land.
 False perception being created that paints women who venture into
politics as being of loose morals or questionable integrity.
 Men who believe that being head of the household includes the power to
dictate to the women in the household on their political choices.
The Commission conducts voter education to turn the tide on these
misconceptions and negative cultural practices. It also partners with
Government Agencies, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), Faith Based
Organizations (FBOs) and other stakeholders to make the case for the rights of
women to fully participate in the electoral process. The Commission, when
deemed necessary, conducted voter education sessions for women only
audience.
During voter registration, the Commission took proactive steps to warn some
men in some parts of the country who were holding the identity cards
documents of their women to release them so that they could go and register
as voters. In some special instances, the Commission deployed female staff to
conduct the Biometric Voter Registration (BVR) of women voters in some
regions (Coast province and North Eastern).
During campaigns, women candidates are vulnerable to physical attacks and
negative campaign propaganda and insults. The Commission has enforced a
code of conduct that obligates all candidates to conduct themselves well and it
is an offense to use offensive, demeaning and derogatory language that is
sexual in nature against women candidates.
In the 2013 General Elections, the Commission worked with women groups
and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in promoting a peaceful election.
Notable among these groups were the Women’s Situation Room (WSR) and
Mothers of the Nation.
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During the day of the elections, women are among the voters that are given
priority to vote, especially the elderly, pregnant women and those with young
children.
Mainstreaming Gender within the Electoral Management Bodies (EMBs)
EMBs play an essential role in the management of electoral operations and the
delivery of free and fair elections. The activities of EMBs are guided by the
following principles:
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Independence;
Impartiality;
Integrity;
Transparency;
Efficiency;
Professionalism; and
Service-mindedness
In promoting a gender sensitive approach in electoral management EMBs
have developed strategies, both internal and external, that bring about a fair
representation of gender. This responsibility is brought about by ensuring
political parties and Electoral bodies adhere to the laws of gender
representation.
As the EMBs promote gender equity, it is in itself an important task for them
to include these measures in their own codes of conduct. This may be done
through the recruitment of both their permanent and temporary staff this will
portray the EMBs as leading by example therefore gaining more credibility.
EMBs use training and education as a tool to encourage both literate and rural
women to participate in the electoral process, enlighten them on their rights
as women as well as raising awareness on gender-based electoral violence.
In Kenya the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has
worked hand in hand with EMBs such as the International Institute for
Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA), International Foundation for
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Electoral Systems (IFES) and the Electoral Institute for Sustainable
Democracy in Africa (EISA) to help in the implementation of gender based
issues.
Conclusion
Mainstreaming of gender in the political process and ensuring that women
fully participate in the political process of a country is a process that cannot be
left only to the Electoral Management Body (EMB). It is always a working
progress and for it to fully succeed it requires genuine political goodwill and
sound and clear legal frameworks.
It also requires a lot of civic education and stakeholder engagement in order
to achieve a total paradigm shift and change of attitudes to women in politics
by some conservative and patrilineal societies.
Kenya is on the right track in achieving this ideal and it is possible that with
the full implementation of the new Constitution, the principle of having at
least 1/3 of women in all elective and appointive bodies will be fully realized
after the next elections in August 2017.
End
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