NAIROBI, Kenya – The High Court has dismissed a constitutional challenge to the national tallying and verification of presidential election results, upholding the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission’s (IEBC) role in verifying results before declaring the final presidential outcome.
The ruling, delivered on Tuesday, September 22, comes amid an intensifying debate over the role of the national tallying centre at Bomas of Kenya ahead of the 2027 General Election.
The case was filed by Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah, who challenged the national-level verification process, arguing that it creates an additional layer of scrutiny that is not contemplated by the Constitution.
Court upholds national verification role
Omtatah had argued that the IEBC should not operate a central “clearing house” at Bomas to re-verify presidential results that had already been declared at polling stations and constituency tallying centres.
He contended that the IEBC Chairperson’s role should be limited to aggregating the final results transmitted from the 290 constituencies.
The court, however, upheld the commission’s mandate to verify constituency returns before declaring the presidential winner.
The decision comes against the backdrop of previous court decisions distinguishing verification from changing results. The Supreme Court has previously held that IEBC’s verification function extends through the different stages of the electoral process and is intended to confirm that declared results correspond with the results recorded at polling stations.
Polling station results remain critical
The ruling does not mean the IEBC has unrestricted authority to alter figures declared at polling stations.
The legal debate has long centred on the principle that results announced at polling stations form the basis of the subsequent tallying process.
In the Maina Kiai case, the Court of Appeal held that the IEBC Chairperson could not alter results arising from the electoral process at polling stations and constituency tallying centres. The Supreme Court subsequently addressed the commission’s verification role in the 2022 presidential election petition.
The distinction is important: verification is intended to establish that the figures received at higher levels correspond with the results declared at lower levels, rather than provide an avenue for changing votes.
Omtatah challenged Bomas tallying
Omtatah’s petition came as political and civil society groups intensified calls to reform the national tallying process ahead of the 2027 election.
The senator argued that additional verification at the national level could create opportunities for human interference, delay the declaration of results and undermine transparency.
He sought orders that would effectively prevent the IEBC from undertaking a second layer of verification at the national level.
The High Court’s decision leaves the current national tallying and verification framework in place.
Maraga-led coalition wanted Bomas scrapped
The judgment comes days after former Chief Justice David Maraga and the People’s Coalition on Electoral Reforms called for the abolition of the national tallying centre.
The coalition argues that the Constitution does not expressly establish a national tallying centre and that presidential results should be counted, tallied, verified and announced at polling stations and constituency level without being retallied at Bomas.
Maraga has cited Articles 86 and 138 of the Constitution and the Maina Kiai decision in support of the position.
The coalition has also called for the IEBC Chairperson and commissioners to be barred from retallying, re-verifying or altering results already declared at polling stations and constituencies.
Government defends national tallying centre
The reform campaign has faced opposition from officials who argue that the Constitution must be read alongside legislation governing presidential elections.
Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has defended the national tallying arrangement, citing Article 88(5) of the Constitution and Article 138(3), as well as provisions of the Elections Act governing the transmission and tallying of presidential results.
Duale has argued that the legal framework provides for tallying and verification at both constituency and national levels.
The competing positions have created a fresh debate over how results should move from polling stations to the national declaration of the presidential winner.
Electoral reforms remain under scrutiny
The national tallying dispute forms part of broader efforts by political parties and civil society groups to influence electoral reforms before the August 10, 2027 General Election.
The People’s Coalition on Electoral Reforms has also called for an independent audit of the voters’ register and biometric data, early testing of election technology and greater transparency in the printing and distribution of ballot papers.
