Civil servants who want to vie in the August 9 General Election have until tomorrow to resign from their positions.
This is after the Court of Appeal this morning set aside a labour court ruling that it was discriminatory to require public servants to resign.
Justice Njagi Marete had ruled that section 43(5) of the Elections Act 2011 is unconstitutional and without any legal basis or force.
However, the court of appeal judges said the provision of the Elections Act is innocent and perfectly constitutional.
“Our view, therefore, is that the provisions of sections 43(5) and (6) are justifiable and reasonable and are not in contravention of any provisions of the Constitution,” the court ruled.
Justices Daniel Musinga, W. Karanja and Agnes Murgor further said the labour court had no jurisdiction to deal with the issue of elections rules.
“It is clear in our minds beyond any peradventure that the determination of the issue of public participation in relation to the enactment of the Elections Act, 2011 was not within the jurisdiction of the Employment and Labour Relations Court, contemplated both in the Constitution and under section 12 of the Employment and Labour Relations Court Act, 2011,” the court ruled.
