2017 MCA Election Requirements

Information is key as you make your strategic preparations and plans. Therefore, this article is there to help you out with all the conditions that must be met by a person who is intending to vie. Unlike in the 2013 polls, the conditions for Member of County Assembly are slightly stringent this time round.

Read more: Nomination fee in 2017 elections per position.

The 2017 MCA elections requirements are as follows.

A person qualifies for nomination as a member of a county assembly if the person;
a)  Is registered as a voter. The location of voter registration is not a restriction. The Elections Act only requires you to be registered voter. Look at the case of the Kiambu By-election whereby Mr. Waititu won the by-election in Kiambu Constituency although he was a registered voter in Embakasi, Nairobi. So, the first condition is that for you to vie for the MCA seat, you must be a registered voter. Satisfies educational/academic, moral and ethical requirements described below.

 b)  Satisfies educational/academic, moral and ethical requirements described below.
For a candidate to be elected as MCA, he/she must hold a certificate or a diploma or other post-secondary school qualification acquired after a period of at least three months study, recognized by the relevant Ministry. You must have post secondary qualifications. i.e. any academic qualification after KCSE (e.g Certificate or Diploma or degree; even a computer certificate will do  provided the above conditions were met i.e. the 3 months requirement and the recognition of the college). A degree is not a must for MCA position.

Nominations and Independent Candidates
An MCA candidate can either be;
(i) nominated by a political party; or
(ii) an independent candidate supported by at least five
hundred (500) registered voters in the ward concerned.

Disqualification from Participation in Elections
A person is disqualified from being elected Member of a
County Assembly in 2017 if the person;
(a) Is a State officer or other public officer, other than a member
of the county assembly;
 (b) Has, at any time within the five years immediately before the
date of election, held office as a member of the IEBC Commission;
(c) Has not been a citizen of Kenya for at least the ten years immediately preceding the date of election.
(d) Is of unsound mind.
(e) Is bankrupt;
(f) Is serving a sentence of at least six months; or
(g) Has been found to have misused or abµsed a state office or public office or to have contravened Chapter Six of the Constitution.

Harambee
(h) A person who directly or indirectly participates in any manner in any public fundraising or Harambee within eight months preceding the general election or during an election period, shall be disqualified from contesting in the election.

Section (h) shall not apply to a fundraising for a person who is not contesting an election or to a fundraising for a political party.

MCA Party Nominations
A political party that nominates a person for MCA election election shall submit to the IEBC a party membership list of the party at least forty five (45) days before the date of the 2017 general elections.