• Kenya has dropped the university degree requirement for presidential, gubernatorial and parliamentary candidates.

• The IEBC says the requirement was declared unconstitutional by the courts.

• Any new degree requirement must go through Parliament and public participation.

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) said the requirement cannot currently be enforced after a court declared the relevant section of the Elections Act unconstitutional.

IEBC Commissioner Ann Nderitu said the legal position means Kenyans without university degrees can contest the three elective positions, provided they satisfy all other constitutional and electoral requirements.

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“As we start now, there is no requirement for a degree for anybody. That’s the situation we are in,” Nderitu said during an interview with Citizen TV.

The decision follows a legal challenge to the degree requirement ahead of the 2022 elections. Nderitu said the court found that the provision conflicted with constitutional principles, including equality and public participation.

She noted that the court also considered Kenya’s relatively low proportion of university graduates. According to figures from the 2019 population census cited by the commissioner, only about 3.5% of Kenyans held university degrees at the time.

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“According to the ruling then, it means that the rest of the Kenyan 96.5% cannot participate in elections for governor, for president and for Member of Parliament. Meaning then, that is discriminatory,” she said.

The removal of the requirement does not mean Parliament is permanently barred from introducing educational qualifications for elective office.

Nderitu explained that any attempt to restore a degree requirement would have to follow the appropriate legislative process, including public participation.

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“Unless somebody goes to court, or we start the process of public participation and allow the degree requirement to come through the proper process, we will go by the verdict Kenyans return through that public participation,” she said.

She added that the Constitution allows Parliament to prescribe qualifications for elective positions, but until a valid new law is enacted, a university degree will not be required.

“But a degree, as we start now, is not part of the requirement,” Nderitu said.

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The clarification comes as political parties and prospective candidates prepare for Kenya’s 2027 elections.