Kenya Makes History With Record Number Of Women Winners In Election

After years of struggle to get women into politics, the August 9 elections marked a breakthrough for female politicians as these women won seven governors, three senators and 26 MP positions

Kenyans have made a stride by electing a record number of women to positions of power in this month’s polls. Kenya paves The way for gender equality by including seven governors, three senators and 26 MPs.

After years of struggle to get women into politics, the August 9 elections marked a breakthrough for female politicians. For instance, in the Rift Valley town of Nakuru, female candidates were elected to eight positions, including governor, senator and woman representative – with Susan Kihika, Tabitha Karanja and Liza Chelule claiming those victories.

“Now sit and watch and see what women can do in office,” said newly elected senator Karanja. Governor-elect Kihika also thanked the voters of Nakuru “for being progressive and electing three women to the leadership of this county”.

Moreover, women secured seven gubernatorial wins, as they claimed the politically influential counties of Kirinyaga and Machakos as well as Meru, where former woman’s representative Kawira Mwangaza ran as an independent candidate and defeated her male competitors.

“Thank you for believing in me and women’s leadership. I am promising you that Meru will be the best county because there will be sustainable development projects,” Mwangaza said.

In addition to claiming seven gubernatorial wins, female candidates won three out of 47 Senate seats and 26 MP positions.

According to a report, “Linet Chepkorir became the youngest female parliamentarian in Kenya’s history following her election as woman representative in the Rift Valley county of Bomet, barely a year after she graduated from university.”

On the flip side, the county saw a drop since the last poll as only 22.1 million voters were registered in a population of around 50 million. However, observers say the record victories will likely encourage more women to enter the political field and strengthen the push for gender equality.