Nairobi — Central Province MPs on Wednesday reiterated the need to stick to the one man, one vote principle.

They said it should be used as the basis for addressing unequal representation not only in the region but also in all parts of the country.

Infrastructure should also be considered when fixing boundaries to ensure sparsely populated areas, as in the case of northern Kenya, were treated fairly with high population areas.

They now want constituencies to be categorised as urban, highly populated rural constituencies, as well as sparsely-populated rural constituencies, with optimal numbers in each constituency agreed upon.

The deviation in population numbers in all constituencies, they said, should be worked out by the Interim Independent Boundaries Commission, debated and passed into law by Parliament.

The MPs, who presented their views to the commission that sat in Nyeri, want the team to finalise its work before a new constitution is in place and before the compilation of a new voters register.

Through the Central MPs Forum chairperson Ephraim Maina (Mathira), they said the country had suffered from what they called gerrymandering in drawing constituencies as well as other administrative boundaries, leading to inequality even in the allocation of resources.

Gender and Youth minister Esther Murugi called on the commission to create special slots for women, people with disabilities and for Kenyans in the diaspora.