The Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) Secretariat has expressed confidence the BBI Bill will be passed by up to 35 county assemblies by end of February to pave way for a referendum in June.

The Bill has been tabled in 22 assemblies and adopted by Siaya, Kisumu and Homa Bay and rejected by Baringo as the team rushes to get the legally required 24 assemblies for it to move to the next step.

“We wish to emphasise that we are within the timelines we had communicated earlier, and we are on course to hold the referendum by June 2021,” BBI secretariat co-chairman Dennis Waweru said on Thursday.

“We are confident of obtaining approvals from at least 35 county assemblies, way above the constitutional threshold of 24 counties,” he added.

The BBI Bill has also been tabled in Nairobi, Murang’a, Kajiado, West Pokot, Busia, Embu, Vihiga, Meru, Nakuru, Laikipia, Nyandarua, Tharaka Nithi, Nyeri, Kirinyaga, Machakos, Makueni, Kiambu and Kitui.

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Waweru appealed to county assemblies to provide adequate time for public participation and also appealed to members of the public to take charge of the process.

He exuded confidence even as the court on Monday temporarily barred the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) from conducting a referendum on the BBI Bill.

IEBC already verified submitted BBI signatures, submitted the draft Bill to the 47 county assemblies and is expected to hold a plebiscite within 90 days after Parliament passes the Bill.

This comes a day after ODM Party Leader Raila Odinga also expressed confidence the BBI Bill will be passed by more than 24 counties and the court will not halt the referendum process.