President William Ruto yesterday promised to work with Parliament to implement the elusive two -thirds gender rule even as he congratulated women leaders elected in the August 9 General Election.

 In his speech delivered during his inauguration ceremony at the Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani, Ruto said that women must be included in key areas as their inclusion does not make Kenya lesser, but greater.

 “On the two thirds gender rule, we will work with Parliament to fast-track the implementation of the two-thirds gender rule. Participation of women in our democracy does not make us lesser but greater. Their role must be seen, I assure you that we will work towards this as promised in my manifesto,” he said.

 Implementation of the two-thirds gender rule has remained elusive despite more than 10 attempts by MPs to push it through.

 The latest attempt to push for the rule through the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) collapsed after a landmark ruling declaring the process illegal.

 An advisory by former Chief Justice David Maraga for President Uhuru Kenyatta to dissolve Parliament over the failure to implement the two-thirds gender rule failed to yield results.

 MPs were required to give effect to Articles 27(8) and 81(b) of the Constitution to ensure not more than two-thirds of members in elective and appointive positions are of the same gender. The law was supposed to have been passed by 2015, five years after the enactment of the 2010 Constitution, but subsequent amendments to the fifth schedule of the Constitution by the MPs saw the timeline extended

 Apart from BBI and Maraga’s ruling, several other proposed amendments to attain the requirement also flopped in Parliament, with the latest one by then Majority Leader Aden Duale in 2019 flopping because of lack of quorum.  Only 174 MPs were present in the House against at least 233 members required for a constitutional amendment.