With the general elections in sight at the end of 2007, the feeling of de ja vu is difficult to shake off, considering that the country has been in political campaigns mode for nearly two years.

“Women are not well represented at all levels of leadership positions and their representation especially at the local authorities' level is wanting,” explains Deborah Okumu, a Senior Programmes Officer at the Kenya Women's Political Caucus (KWPC).

Alice Kirambi, the Executive Director of Christian Partners Development Agency says that good governance and sustainable development in our society remains a major challenge for key players within government, the corporate sector, and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs).

“I believe that helping women and men to become equal partners in development within all structures by providing access to information is a development objective,” she notes.

An area with the potential for enhancement in terms of women's representation is the local authorities. There is a strong belief that the local authorities structure offers a better tool for decentralisation.

The GGP tools that were launched included; a Comparative Desktop Study of Gender and Governance Strategies that have worked in Africa and Asia. These included case studies from India, Sudan, Nigeria and Kenya.

For instance, India was chosen for it's uniqueness as the largest demography in the world with a huge population, who periodically go to the polls to elect a Prime Minister and other representatives to the legislature. However, the caste system is also practiced in India propagating social differentiation with a heavy bearing on gender equality and political representation.

On the other hand, Kenya formed the unit analysis for the comparative study on gender and governance.

The other GGP tools that were disseminated were a Modular Leadership Training Guide, a Rapid Assessment Study (RAS) of Gender and Governance practices in local authorities and a popular version of the Women's Political Manifesto.

The tools are to be adopted and revised, to assist in the area of strategy and to help various GGP partners avoid working on narrow objectives.

Some of the specific strategies for increased women's participation in governance according to the Comparative Study on Gender and Governance in India, Sudan, Nigeria and Kenya are; promoting public awareness on women's participation in governance, fostering women's participation in political parties and elective bodies.

Others, according to the study are, fostering women's participation in high-level positions in governments and appointed bodies and underscoring the promotion of women's access to high-level decision-making positions in the economic and social spheres.

The study also notes that a combination of governmental action through legislation and civil society is important.

“Political socialization through political education is important and it is necessary to provide training in organizational development for women candidates, in addition to training women candidates and women's groups to highlight gender issues and establish networks among women's groups in civil society, political parties, Parliament and media,” notes the study.