The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has clarified that a university degree is not currently required for anyone seeking to contest the presidency, a parliamentary seat or a governorship in the 2027 General Election, following a court ruling that struck down the legal provision imposing that requirement.
IEBC Commissioner Ann Nderitu made the clarification on a television show on Sunday, explaining that the position stems from a court challenge filed before the 2022 General Election.
“Before the 2022 general election, there were some people who went to court, and they challenged the requirement for a degree for the president, Member of Parliament, and Governor,” Nderitu said.
“The determination of those cases was made after the election, and the verdict was that section 22B (1) of the Elections Act is unconstitutional.” She confirmed that, as things stand, the requirement no longer applies to any of the affected seats. “As we start now, there is no requirement for a degree for anybody. That’s the situation we are in,” she said.
According to Nderitu, the court found that the degree requirement breached Article 27 of the Constitution, which guarantees freedom from discrimination, as well as Article 10, which provides for public participation in decision-making. The ruling took effect at the next General Election following the judgment, making it directly applicable to the 2027 polls.
The removal of the requirement for Members of Parliament has a constitutional knock-on effect on the presidency and governorship, since both offices are legally tied to parliamentary eligibility.
Article 137(1)(b) of the Constitution provides that a person qualifies to run for President only if they are also qualified to stand for election as an MP, while Article 180(2) similarly ties eligibility for governor to eligibility for a county assembly seat. With the MP-level requirement struck down, the same legal reasoning applies to both the presidency and the governorship.
Nderitu stressed that scrapping the degree requirement does not mean aspirants are free of other eligibility conditions. Candidates must still meet requirements including Kenyan citizenship, registration as a voter, nomination by a political party or qualification to run as an independent candidate, and compliance with the Constitution’s leadership and integrity provisions, alongside any other conditions specific to the office being sought.
The clarification has reopened a long-running debate within the IEBC itself over academic qualifications for elected office. Evans Masiti, chairperson of the Commission’s National Steering Committee, has previously said the IEBC intends to petition Parliament to legislate clear minimum academic qualifications for political candidates, warning that without such a law, a PhD holder and a KCSE dropout would be legally indistinguishable as candidates.
IEBC Chairperson Erastus Ethekon has said the Commission is deliberately not rushing to reintroduce the matter to avoid triggering fresh legal challenges before the groundwork is properly laid.
“We are not in a hurry because if we do it now, someone will again try to frustrate the process, but we will do it at the appropriate time,” Ethekon said.
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