Thinking of Running for Office? Know Your Resignation Deadline

Every election cycle, some aspiring candidates lose their chance to run, not on the campaign trail, but months earlier, by getting the timing of a single administrative step wrong. A recent High Court decision is a clear reminder of just how strictly this rule is enforced, and how little room courts have found to make exceptions.

The Rule

Section 43(5) of the Elections Act requires a public officer who intends to contest an elective position to resign from public office at least six months before the date of the election. It’s a straightforward rule on paper, but it has tripped up more than one aspiring candidate who assumed their specific circumstances would be treated as an exception.

The Case

In Mwenda Johnstone Gichuru v IEBC & 2 Others (High Court at Meru, Petition No. E015 of 2022), the petitioner was a lecturer at a public university who wanted to contest for the position of Speaker of the Meru County Assembly following the 2022 General Election. He resigned from his lecturing post on 5th September, 2022 (after vacancies for Speaker and Deputy Speaker had already been declared) and sought clearance from the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to run.

IEBC declined to clear him. His resignation, submitted less than six months before the 9th August 2022 general election, did not meet the statutory deadline. His argument to the Court was that this made no practical sense for a Speaker election specifically, since a Speaker vacancy only arises after the general election concludes, so there was, in his view, no way to know six months in advance exactly when to resign in order to comply.

The Court rejected this argument. It held that the constitutionality and applicability of the six-month resignation requirement to public officers had already been settled by the Court of Appeal, and that the petitioner (indisputably a public officer at the relevant time) was bound by it regardless of the specific elective office he was pursuing. IEBC’s refusal to clear him was found to be lawful, and his petition was dismissed with costs.

Who This Rule Applies To

The resignation requirement isn’t limited to a narrow category of officials. It applies broadly to public officers, which, as this case confirms, includes university lecturers at public institutions, alongside civil servants, parastatal employees, and others holding public office. If you fall within that category and are considering a run for any elective position, the six-month clock is not a formality to plan around loosely.

Practical Guidance for Prospective Candidates

If you’re a public officer weighing a future run for elective office, the lesson from this case is straightforward but worth stating plainly:

Calculate your resignation date from the general election, not from when you expect your specific vacancy to arise. As this case shows, arguments based on “my seat wasn’t even vacant yet” have already been tested in court and rejected.

Resign early enough to have a clear paper trail well before the six-month mark. Waiting until closer to a declared vacancy, rather than working back from the general election date, is a common and costly miscalculation.

Don’t assume your specific office or route to candidacy makes you an exception. The courts have shown limited willingness to carve out situational exceptions to a rule Parliament has set and the Court of Appeal has upheld as constitutional.

Getting this timing wrong doesn’t just risk losing a case, it forecloses the candidacy altogether, regardless of how strong a candidate might otherwise be. If you’re a public officer with political ambitions, it is worth getting advice on your resignation timeline well before you assume you have room to spare.

C.B. Mwongela & Co. Advocates advises public officers and institutions on electoral law compliance, candidacy eligibility, and related constitutional matters.