Lobby group files petition challenging degree requirement in 2022 polls
Sheria Mtaani and lawyer Shadrack Wambui has moved to court to challenge the law that requires an academic degree for those seeking to run for Member of Parliament(MPs) and Member of the County Assembly(MCAs) seats.
This comes after Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission(IEBC) chairman Wafula Chebukati announced that only those with degrees will be allowed to run in next year’s general election.
Through lawyer Danstan Omar, the petitioner argues that the Covid-19 Pandemic disrupted the academic year 2020 therefore hampering and frustrating many Kenyans who wanted to have their degree by year 2020.
“The effects of the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted the academic year 2020 which has also played a significant role in hampering and frustrating the academic progression of so many Kenyans who had hoped to graduate with a university degree by the year 2022,” he said.
He also argued that the aspirants for the 2022 General elections, particularly for the seat of MCA and who are not degree holders for a reason or another, have been thrown into pandemonium and confusion and forced to abandon their early and reasonable engagements with the electorates in preparation for the year 2022 polls.
“The impugned section of the election Act flows from a flawed assumption that persons possessing a university degree which test fails the constitutional threshold under article 24 of the constitution,” reads the papers.
Additionally, they argued that failure for most persons to achieve a university degree in the current Kenyan context is also arguably a result of the high poverty levels which have bedevilled this country since independence as the government and the constitution only makes free, mandatory and accessible basic education.
Further, they said that the implementation of the said law is discriminatory against many Kenyans who may qualify as good leaders by failing to recognize and equating various academic qualifications, trainings skills and other merits.
“In any event, elected leaders have the liberty of employing persons with special skills to help them fulfil their agenda or purpose in office,” they argue.
MPs and MCAs must hold a bachelor’s degree before they can run for office, according to IEBC.
The law was passed just before the 2017 election, however, the National Assembly successfully suspended it after the election in the hopes of obtaining the papers by 2022.
Politicians who want to run for office in 2022 polls but don’t have an academic degree will be barred from running.
