High Court orders petitioners in degree requirement suit be served within 5 days

The High court has directed petitioners in a case requiring contestants for MP and MCA seats to have a university degree qualification be served to the respondents within five days.

Further, the Attorney General, the Speaker of the National Assembly and IEBC have been directed tom file responses within 10 days .

The matter will be mentioned on July 7.

Members of Parliament (MPs) and Members of County Assembly (MCAs) must hold a bachelor’s degree before they can run for office, according to the legislation.

Despite the fact that the law was passed just before the 2017 election, the National Assembly successfully lobbied for its suspension after the election in the hopes of obtaining the papers by 2022.

Since Covid-19 hit the country in March, most universities have been closed for months on end to stem the spread of the virus

It means that politicians who want to run for office but don’t have the necessary paperwork will be barred from running.

MCAs have previously argued that the statute mandating them to have a university degree has the ability to pervert the people’s will.

The County Assembly Forum, a caucus that represents all 47 county assemblies, recently stated that stipulations in the Elections Act of 2012 could prevent a majority of MCAs who do not have university degrees but consider themselves qualified leaders from running for office