RUTO on the verge of a huge win as Senate adopts MURKOMEN’s Bill to quash degree requirement for elective positions – MCAs and MPs will owe him after this

 

Thursday, July 1, 2021 – Elgeyo Marakwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen is edging closer to overturning the declaration by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEBC) that all people seeking elective posts in the 2022 General Election must have bachelor degrees.

This is after the Senate committee on legal matters adopted Murkomen’s Bill challenging Section 22 of the Elections Act, 2011 which requires candidates vying for parliamentary and ward representative positions to possess at least a bachelor’s degree.

Murkomen tabled the motion before the Senate, arguing the credential’s requirement discriminated against candidates based on their academic qualification.

According to the senator, what was important was for the politicians to be literate enough to read and write.

“The provision as is in the Elections Act is restrictive and discriminates against people who may not have a Bachelor’s Degree.”

“This implies that only individuals with this qualification have the capacity to serve in public office,” Murkomen submitted to the Senate.

The “Murkomen Bill”, as it has been labeled, seeks to amend the specific provision of the Elections Act (No. 24 of 2011) to remove the degree requirement for a person vying for nomination as a candidate. 

Deputy President William Ruto had trashed the degree requirement and vowed to support Murkomen’s Bill, saying the law was irrational as it tends to lock out leaders with great potential.

The deputy president argued that that requirement was unnecessary, stating that leadership was innate and granted by God.