MPs, MCAs required to have degree, diploma in proposed amendments

It will be mandatory for aspiring MPs to possess at least a degree as minimum qualification if amendments to law by Kenya's electoral agency are adopted.

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) is proposing amendments to the Elections Act 2011 aimed at improving the quality of leadership.

The idea is to address concerns resulting from the 2013 general election, the first ever under the new constitutional dispensation.

Under the proposed Elections (Amendment) Bill 2015, Members of the County Assemblies (MCAs) will now be required to hold at least a diploma qualification.

“Clause 7 seeks to amend Section 22 of the principal act to require that a person seeking nomination for an election should possess, as minimum qualifications, a degree in the case of Parliamentary elections and a Diploma in the case of county assemblies election,” reads the Bill’s Memorandum of Objects and Reasons.

The current Elections Act states that only the president, deputy president, governors and deputy governors are required to hold a degree from a recognised university.

The Constitution and County Government Act do not specify academic qualifications for MCAs.

The proposed changes come at a time when MCAs across the country are facing criticism for passing substandard laws and not grasping basic principles of devolution, economics and finance.

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The Justice and legal affairs committee, chaired by Ainabkoi MP Samuel Chepkonga, met with IEBC chairman Isaack Hassan to review the proposed changes before they are tabled in parliament.

“These are what we have proposed it will be upon parliament to make the law. We shall abide by the law,” Hassan told the committee.