International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) |Volume V, Issue XI, November 2021|ISSN 2454-6186 www.rsisinternational.org Page 518 The Effect of Legislators‟ Education Levels on Constituency Service: A Case Study of CDF Utilization (2008-2013) Frank Muinde Munyao & Patrick Kasyula University of Nairobi, Kenya Abstract: Education levels world over are used as a measure of determining a potential employees job performance abilities. Unfortunately little research has been done to establish the effect of legislators’ education levels on their performance, yet there has been clamor for university education to be used as a pre- requisite for any one running for a representative position. The main purpose of this study was therefore aimed at establishing the effect of legislators’ education levels on their constituency service. The study used CDF as the measure of constituency service and utilized secondary data obtained from parliament and the National Association of Taxpayers. The study findings showed that the legislators’ levels of education didn’t have effect on their constituency service as far as CDF utilization ranking is concerned. In the first and second phase of ranking the legislators who didn’t have a bachelor’s degree were ranked better in CDF utilization compared to those who had at least a bachelor’s degree. It’s only in the third and fourth phases of the CDF rankings that those with at least a bachelor’s degree were ranked well than their counterparts without a bachelor’s degree. The study then comes to an end with a number of recommendations and suggestions for further research work to broaden the sphere of knowledge in this scholarly area of research. I. BY FRANK MUNYAO AND PATRICK KASYULA uring the 18th century, political arena was only accessible to members in an aristocracy, which entailed property ownership, that time all leadership positions were only held by aristocrats, they served as warriors, as rulers, as administrators, as judges and as priests and participation in elections was very restricted regulated majorly by customs and arrangements at the localities. Even though the revolutions that took place around this time, the American and French revolutions, declared every citizen formally equal to one another, the vote was still being used as an instrument of political power possessed by very few (Duignan, 2013). Historically besides property, countries have tended to impose age, gender, and religious qualifications on the right to be a candidate- as on the right to vote- but these have become less stringent or have simply withered along with voting disqualification based on similar grounds. In the contemporary world other types of restrictions have come up including, citizenship, residence (in district and or country), incompatibilities, monetary deposits and supporting signatures. Some restrictions on eligibility are fairly universal and uncontroversial, although detailed arrangements may vary from one country to another, as is the case in regard with age and citizenship (Blais et al., 2003). Other restrictions are meant to prevent the multiplication of ludicrous candidates by imposing procedural requirements that compel would-be candidates to either pay some fees and to risk the loss thereof (deposit) or to show that they have the support or following of a sizeable segment of the electorate(confirmed by signatures on the nomination paper). Conditions for eligibility are supplemented by incompatibilities, which are aimed at preventing parliamentarians or presidents from holding offices or positions that may hinder them from the proper execution of their duties (Blais et al., 2003). Some requirements seemingly aim at ensuring that legislators or presidents possess at least minimum abilities for their duties. In Chile, for instance one must have completed secondary education or the equivalent in order to stand as a candidate in legislative elections. In Guyana, Malawi, St. Lucia and St. Vincent, the legislators must be able to read and speak the English language with a degree of proficiency that would be sufficient to allow them participate fully in the work of parliament. Language-proficiency is also a requirement in Estonia, Latvia and the Philippines (Blais et al., 2003). In Kenya, at independence, the qualifications that one needed for eligibility to an election revolved around citizenship, age, party membership, and language proficiency, (Const1963, 1963). These requirements did not change until the enactment of the Kenya 2010, constitution and the subsequent Kenya Elections Act of 2011. The act in addition to the previous qualifications that were already in place required that for one to be eligible for election to the parliament- senate and national assembly- and also to the county assembly, must have post-secondary school qualification from an institution recognized in Kenya. They must also meet the leadership and integrity threshold as provided for in the constitution. Besides the above qualifications, the president, his/her deputy, the governor and his/her deputy would be required to possess a degree from an institution recognized in Kenya (CMD-Kenya, 2011). D