Kiambu County senator Karungo Wa Thang’wa has taken a swipe at his Nandi counterpart Samson Cherargei over his recent justification for the extension of term limits for elected leaders.

Cherargei has sponsored a bill seeking to increase term limits for the president, members of parliament, governors, and members of county assemblies (MCAs).

In a statement issued on Monday, October 28, 2024, Cherargei claimed that extending term limits for political leaders would help the country save money by reducing the number of election cycles.

Karungo on Cherargei’s suggestion

However, Karungo in a statement shared via his official X account on Tuesday, October 29, 2024, likened Cherargei’s suggestion to asking a pregnant woman to prolong her pregnancy just because one cannot afford the cost of a delivery.

The lawmaker who is allied to impeached Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua went ahead to note that the embattled former second in command’s public participation was rushed, with almost zero budget.

Senator Karungo suggested that if the country wants to save money in elections, it can as well employ the approach used in impeaching Gachagua.

“What the senator is suggesting is like asking a pregnant person to prolong their pregnancy because you can’t afford the delivery. Riggy G’s public participation was completed in record time—just half a day—across the entire country, and it was done with almost zero budget. Why not apply the same approach to elections?” the lawmaker stated.

Cherargei’s argument

Cherargei had earlier told Kenyans that extending term limits for elected leaders would help the country save money.

In a statement shared via his official X account on Monday, October 28, 2024, Cherargei argued that the country has been losing a lot of money by holding general elections that are too close.

According to the lawmaker, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) spends money that runs into billions to hold a single election.

For instance, Cherargei says IEBC spent Ksh35.8 billion to conduct the last 2022 general elections, which has since left the commission with outstanding pending bills worth Ksh2.05 billion.

He further notes that the amount the electoral commission spent to conduct the past election can translate to Ksh2,000 per voter, terming it the most expensive election cost in the world.

“Kenyans are you aware that in the 2022 General Elections Ksh35.8B which translates to Ksh2,000 per voter was used with an outstanding pending bill of Ksh2.05 billion by IEBC? This is the most expensive election cost in the world,” Cherargei stated.

Cherargei on term limits

The lawmaker went ahead to state that it is because of the cost of conducting an election that he is seeking to have the term limits extended.

According to him, the money used to hold elections every five years can be diverted to development projects across the country.

This, Cherargei says, can enable each county to receive up to Ksh1 billion, to be spent on development projects.

“That’s why we don’t need to hold elections regularly because these monies can be used for development projects across the country. Imagine approximately Ksh1 billion per county for the development expenditure or give to counties for the equitable shareable revenue allocation,” Cherargei stated.

Cherargei’s bill seeks to increase the term limits for the president, governors, members of parliament, and members of county assemblies from the current five to seven years.