The United Democratic Alliance (UDA) has withdrawn an earlier directive issued to its Members of County Assembly (MCAs) intending to contest for higher political seats under the party ticket.
On Tuesday, February 8, UDA Secretary General, Veronica Maina, had asked all MCAs eyeing Member of Parliament (MP), Senate and Gubernatorial seats to tender their resignation by close of business Wednesday, February 9.
However, the Secretary General has recalled the announcement saying the execution of the directive has temporarily been halted pending clarification on the matter.
"The party wishes to withdraw the notice until we seek urgent clarification from the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission(IEBC)," read the statement in part.
The UDA Secretary General had asked the MCAs to resign, quoting Article 99(2)(d) of the Constitution of Kenya 2010 and a ruling delivered by the Court of Appeal Judge, Weldon Korir, in 2019.
"Pursuant to Article 99(2)(d) of the Constitution and the Judgement in Civil Appeal No.431 of 2019 (Hon. Clement Waibara vs Hon Wanjiku Kibe & Others), we advice our aspirants who are sitting MCAs intending to contest for the position of MP or Senate to resign by Wednesday, February 9, for them to be eligible to contest," read the UDA statement dated February 8.
Justice Weldon Korir nullified the election of Wanjiku Kibe as Gatundu North MP, noting that she was unqualified since at the time of her election, she had not resigned as a ward representative.
On February 8, the Speaker of the Nation Assembly, Justin Muturi, who also quoted the same clause of the Constitution, called for the resignation of MCAs eyeing higher seats.
"Article 99, Clause 2 (d) bars a siting MCA from vying for an MP seat unless they resign six months to the election date. Therefore, it is only fair that I draw their attention to the clear provisions of the constitution, not just the Elections Act," noted Muturi.
The Elections Act (2011) exempts MCAs from the list of public officers who are required to resign from office at least six months before the election date. However, Section 24 of the act disqualifies county representatives from contesting the seat.
"A person is disqualified from being elected a Member of Parliament if the person is a Member of a County Assembly," reads Article 24(2)(d).
However, in May 2021, High Court Judge Anthony Mrima ruled that the law did not require MCAs to be out of office until the election date unless they were contesting in a parliamentary by-election. In this case, they would be required to vacate from office seven days after the Speaker of either the Senate or National Assembly declared the seat vacant.
