AfricaPress-Kenya: The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) chairman, Wafula Chebukati, on Wednesday said promoters of the Building Bridges Initiative only discussed how to eradicate post-poll violence.
He said the task of allocating where the additional constituencies will be is the work of the IEBC, not politicians.
Chebukati was speaking when he appeared before the Justice and Legal Affairs Committees on the Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) Bill, 2020.
According to the BBI, Kenya will have 70 more constituencies, which are to be located in 28 select counties.
He said the distribution of the constituencies in the select counties is the jurisdiction of the IEBC, as outlined in Articles 84 (4c) and 89 of the Constitution.
Rift Valley, Nairobi, Central and Coast are the biggest beneficiaries of the new 70 constituencies in constitutional changes proposed by the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI).
The proposal on distribution of 70 constituencies
The Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) Bill, 2020, proposes to increase the number of constituencies from 290 to 360.
The Bill indicates that the larger Rift Valley will get 23 new constituencies, Nairobi 12, Central Kenya 11 and Coast 10.
Kiambu County will get six new constituencies, Nakuru 5, Kilifi 4 while Uasin Gishu, Narok, Kajiado, Mombasa, Kwale and Bungoma counties will get three each.
Meru, Bomet, Kakamega, Kisumu counties are slated to get two new electoral areas while Mandera, Embu, Makueni, Kirinyaga, Murang’a, Turkana, West Pokot, Nandi, Laikipia, Siaya and Nyamira have been allocated one each.
However, protected constituencies with little population in Tana River, Lamu, Taita Taveta, Marsabit, Isiolo, Nyandarua, Nyeri, Samburu, Elgeyo-Marakwet, Baringo, Vihiga and Busia will not be affected by the delimitation.
The promoters of the BBI said they used population to decide the counties to get the additional constituencies, with priority given to those underrepresented in the National Assembly.
No existing constituency will be lost following the proposed changes.
IEBC is mandated to review electoral areas after between eight and 12 years but any review must be completed at least 12 months before General Election of MPs.
