Kenya’s parliament has deferred a vote on a controversial gender equity bill to 2019 as not enough MPs turned up to vote.

It is the fourth time that the vote on the bill, which seeks to increase the number of women representatives in the National Assembly, has been stymied.

Despite the constitution, which was adopted in 2010, stipulating that no more than two-thirds of any elected or appointed body can be of the same gender, women only hold 22% of seats in the parliament.

Previous court rulings compelling parliament to implement the legislation have failed, with female lawmakers accusing their male colleagues of deliberately frustrating the efforts.

President Uhuru Kenyatta, his deputy and other top political leaders have urged lawmakers to support the bill.