Two registered voters want the National Assembly to abolish a provision in the Elections Act that stipulates that anyone running for elective office must hold a bachelor’s degree.
Speaker of the National Assembly Justin Muturi reminded MPs that he had received a petition from Anthony Manyara and John Wangai alleging that Section 22 (1) (b) of the Elections Act is illegal since it is discriminatory and incompatible with the Bill of Rights.
“The petitioners therefore pray that this House deletes Section 22(1)(b) of the Elections Act in its entirety so as to provide a fair playground to all candidates seeking elective positions regardless of their educational backgrounds,” a section of the petition read.
In the 2017 elections, the implementation of the modified Section 22 of the Election Act was postponed to allow candidates running for MP and MCA offices to get the needed academic qualifications.
“House should not even consider the petition,” Garissa county governor Aden Duale said.
“We cannot have people who have no basic education qualification to participate in the function of the budget making process in this House. We cannot have people who don’t have requisite education qualification to interrogate the Auditor-General reports in this House,” said the former Majority Leader.
Duale stated that it is an abuse of the process because the law’s suspension was intended to provide sitting MPs, MCAs, and hopefuls enough time to enhance their academic qualifications to at least a bachelor’s degree.
