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Mount Kenya and northeastern legislators have vowed to block plans to close some of their constituencies that do not meet the legislated population threshold.
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) will examine the boundaries of constituencies before the 2022 elections.
South Isiolo, Laisamis, North Horr, Saku, Siakago (now Mbeere North), Ndaragwa , Tetu, Murkurweini, Othaya and Kangema are some of the constituencies expected to be revised in 2020 after the end of the 2019 population census results.
They risk losing their status for not having reached the population quota such as required by law. During the 2010 review, the population threshold was 133,000 people. This figure could change, however, given the expected increase in the population.
In order for a constituency to maintain its status, the population must be above or below the 40% quota for cities and sparsely populated areas and 30% for the others.
The electoral districts to be examined do not respect the population threshold and could therefore be merged to form new ones while others could be split up.
Constituencies were, however, protected despite the population quota required at the time of the first review.
Section 27 (4) of the transitional and consequential provisions states that "the delimitation board shall ensure that the first review of the electoral divisions undertaken under this Constitution does not result in the loss of An existing constituency on the date of entry into force. "
This resulted in the protection of the 27 constituencies that were below the population quota, but in the second revision in 2020, this warning will not apply.
The Member for Mbeere North, Muriuki Njagagua, said the semi-arid protected district already had more than 100,000 inhabitants and that it would be wrong to abolish it.
He expressed his optimism. He also stated that the area was protected because it is largely inhabited by the Mbeere community, which is a minority in the county of Embu. "I believe we are still protected and we will fight for this protection as a minority. We will fight tooth and nail, "he said.
South Isiolo's deputy, Abdi Koropu Tepo, threatened to sue if the electoral body abolished his constituency, noting that the government was not going to be able to do so. IEBC should instead consider dividing it – its immensity
"I will fight legally against the initiative of the IEBC or its constitutional amendment so that the constituencies are preserved. I take days to tour my riding, unlike other MPs who use hours to do the same thing, "said the MP.
He argued that this area has been marginalized for more than 50 years. Speaking to reporters in the city of Marsabit earlier this month, Saku's deputy, Ali Dido Rbado, said that if the semi-arid districts are abandoned, the effect of the "rainy day", training will be felt by the counties as development will be slow.
In Nyeri, half of the constituencies could be revised because of the small population. According to Kenya's National Bureau of Statistics, the population of Tetu is expected to be 95,519, Mukurweini of 102,363 and Othaya of 106,561.
According to MP Gutu Mwangi, the population has increased significantly since the last election and should not to be affected
"I will not support the decision to abolish my constituency because my people will be poorly represented in Parliament," he said.
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