Janet Nangabo speaking to journalists in Trans Nzoia[PHOTO|Leonard Wamalwa|WestFm]

Women leaders in Trans Nzoia County have called on president Mwai Kibaki and members of parliament to intervene Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission’s (IEBC's) recently released nomination rates for various categories of aspirants looking forward to vie in the next general elections.

They have urged the parliament to compel the commission to reduce the rates to an affordable rate whereby majority of aspiring leaders can afford to pay and exercise their constitutional rights of vying for leadership.

Speaking to West FM at different places, the women including Justina Siti, Janet Nangabo and Elizabeth Nyongesa said that the high rates of payments are meant to infringe on their rights as women yet the new constitution open for them a window of enjoying more things including a wide range of leadership among others.

They pointed out that the move is giving an impression that leadership of this country shall remain a reserve for rich people only as the poor who have leadership qualities are locked out of such contentions.

"I see the move as a first indication of rigging the elections because they want to have only the well to do people to lead this country and we shall not accept the move to take effect," said Justina Siti who is also a director at Kenya Seed Company.

They noted that women can not afford the amounts released because most of them depend on support from their husbands or other well wishers to engage in leadership contests and thus hiking the nomination fee will automatically be locking them out.

"That will also be infringing on our rights because everybody has a right to vie for any elective seat whether parliamentary or women representative or any other without having such obstacles and therefore the commission should lower the fee to an amount that can be afforded by majority of the aspirants," said Nyongesa who is also the chairperson of Ford Kenya in Saboti Constituency.

They gave varied proposals of figures ranging from KShs. 10,000 to KShs. 50,000 to be arrived upon by the commission for aspirants with intentions to vie including county representatives, parliamentary aspirants and women representatives.

"The commission should also put in mind that aspirants also have another task of paying their respective political parties for registration to vie for a respective seat on that particular party's ticket and therefore it should not add up the burden awaiting them," said Nyongesa.

They have called on the president to intervene the way he intervened on the matter of the level of education of parliamentarians so that women can eventually have easy time to engage into leadership positions bestowed to them by the new constitution.

"We are calling upon president Kibaki and even the members of parliament to intervene in the matter so that they can compel the commission to issue rates that are normal and affordable to many of us who are seeking leadership so that we can be able to assist our fellow poor women and the vulnerable children who are languishing in poverty out there," said councilor Nangabo of Kitale Municipal Council.

The women pointed out that this new constitution is where women are having freedoms and a wide range of privileges to fully engage in leadership positions and therefore hurdles should not be put ahead of them as they endeavor to practice their rights and privileges.