Photo: D. Hakes/Carter Center Photos The IEBC has agreed to revise downwards the fee that aspirants for the women representative seats will have to pay. Instead of Sh500,000, they will now pay Sh250,000.
We still believe that this is too much to demand from women. After all, only women will be allowed to run for these seats!
If the intention is to encourage more women participation in the political process, why not reduce the nomination fee even further so that competition is opened to a wider group of women? The new nomination fee is still going to lock out thousands of women who have the the passion to serve but not the financial clout to enter the race. Unless of course the intention is to create yet another class of moneyed women in politics!
This is an opportune time for the IEBC to set a sound foundation which will hopefully see merit, ability and passion to serve the public as well as sound policies take centrestage in our election campaigns. The IEBC must not fail the women. It must review the nomination fee downwards.
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The move by IEBC in-terms of introduction of fee payment on various posts on aspirants was very timely. In as much as we intend to uphold and remain democratic, cheap democratic space may only result in chaotic competition where every one feels he/she can vie for anything. The move has however met reactions some of which may be genuine. In relation to how high or low the fee is another matter that calls for extensive debating. Most ladies aspirants have complained it's a move that is intended to lock them out of various leadership positions and to violate the constitutional one third reserve. It is agreeable to a point. Raising the fee to a level considered un affordable can be likened to a situation of an adult exposing a sweet to a kid, only to raise the sweet up and ask the kid that if he reaches it, it's all his. Those kids who can reach the sweet because they have grown taller than their ages allow will not complain. The IEBC has done well to institute this move. The only rationale is the amount the IEBC considers reasonable.