The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) on Tuesday met Thirdway Alliance party leader Ekuru Aukot over his bid to have a referendum conducted on the reduction of the size of Parliament.
With the 2010 constitution requiring one million signatures for a referendum to be done, Thirdway presented an ICT-based system which they plan on using to collect the signatures.
IEBC stated that it would now consider the proposal and communicate their decision by Friday.
Aukot has been pushing for the number of legislators in the Senate and the National Assembly to be reduced from 416 to 194.
He had earlier launched an online campaign, #ReduceParliament, proposing a formula that would see a man and a woman elected from each county bringing the number of Members of Parliament to 94.
[caption caption="Ekuru Aukot and other Thirdway leaders at IEBC offices on March 21st 2018"]
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If the bid is successful, the existing constituencies would be abolished and new ones created.
The former Presidential Candidate also wanted the Senate to be given veto powers, making it superior to Parliament.
He further proposed that the 12 nomination slots in the National Assembly be reduced to 6.
Towards the end of February, however, Aukot faced a setback when IEBC turned down a request to meet the Thirdway leadership.
"As you are aware, the procedure under Article 256 is initiated through a parliamentary process, while the procedure under Article 257 is by way of popular initiative. Therefore considering the specificities of the proposed referendum by Thirdway Alliance, different provisions may apply," IEBC Chair Wafula Chebukati stated in a February 27 letter to Miruru Waweru, the party chairman.
[caption caption="Ekuru Aukot"]
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