County residents will go back to the ballot if a governor dies before being sworn in. A Bill to be introduced in the Senate seeks to bar the deputy governor from automatically ascending to power.
A by-election will be held within 60 days.
The Bill sponsored by Senate Majority leader Kipchumba Murkomen, however, states that the deputy governor-elect shall be sworn in as acting governor before the by-election is conducted.
If a sitting governor dies before his five-year term in office commences, the deputy will take over as governor for the remainder of the term.
The deputy governor-elect will take the oath of office as governor within 14 days in public before the resident High Court judge or chief magistrate.
The provision seeks to end the gap in law which has made it difficult for a deputy governor who took over as governor to appoint a deputy, like the Nyeri county case.
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The state-sponsored County Government (Amendment) Bill, 2017 intends to seal loopholes in the Constitution which does not provide clear procedures on how the deputy governor assumes the governor’s position and appoints his deputy.
MCAs who have been untouchable once they are elected will be recalled by the electorate through a legal process.
An MCA will be recalled for violating integrity requirements for public servants in Chapter Six of the Constitution, mismanaging public funds or committing an electoral offence under the Elections Act, 2011.
The recall shall be initiated 24 months after the election of the MCA. However, it will not be initiated later than 12 months to the next general election. The proposed law bars petitioning the recall of the MCAs more than once during their five-year term.
“A recall of an MCA shall only be initiated upon a judgment or finding by the High Court confirming the grounds specified,” reads the Bill.