If a man is running for president, the DP should be a woman, says Ruto

President William Ruto has announced that the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party will alternate the gender of its candidates while fielding presidential and gubernatorial candidates in the upcoming elections to ensure gender equality. 

Speaking during the launch of the G7 strategy that brings together the country's seven women governors, Dr Ruto said UDA chairperson Cecily Mbarire has been mandated to ensure that the party achieves the goal of pairing male candidates with female running mates and vice versa.

“We must, as a party, lead from the front and we must make rules that when Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and myself will have decided..., we must also agree that if a man is a candidate for president in our party, the woman must be the deputy and if a woman is the candidate, the running mate must be a man," he announced.

"And we must also cascade it down to the governors. We must be intentional and deliberate about it otherwise it will not happen.

The Head of State has also called on the National Assembly to support the report of the National Dialogue Committee (Nadco), which contains proposals on how to achieve the two-thirds gender rule.

The report, which is currently before the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee (JLAC) of the National Assembly for consideration, recommends constitutional amendments to provide for gender top-ups through party lists similar to the top-ups in the 47 County Assemblies.

It also proposes that the Elections Act 2011 be amended to ensure that party lists meet the two-thirds gender principle.

It also proposes amending the Act to establish a Women's Political Participation Fund to promote mentorship and women's participation in society.