NAIROBI, Kenya — Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah Okoiti has filed a constitutional petition at the Milimani High Court seeking to abolish the National Tallying Centre as currently constituted, arguing that it undermines the integrity of Kenya’s presidential election process and violates the 2010 Constitution.
In a detailed statement posted on X on Sunday, November 24, the outspoken lawmaker announced that he had lodged Constitutional Petition No. E757 of 2025, targeting Sections 39, 39(1C), 39(1G) of the Elections Act and Regulation 83(2) of the Elections (General) Regulations.
Omtatah insists that these provisions unlawfully create a second layer of verification that is not envisioned by the Constitution.
“The Constitution is clear: presidential results are tallied, verified, and declared at the 290 constituencies, and those results are final and binding,” Omtatah said. “The role of the IEBC Chairperson under Article 138(10) is strictly clerical; to add up constituency results and declare the winner.”
He argues that current IEBC practice—particularly the establishment of a national tallying centre, traditionally at the Bomas of Kenya—has allowed the commission to treat final constituency results as provisional, facilitating manipulation, interference, and delays.
According to him, this framework has created constitutional ambiguity that repeatedly fuels mistrust during presidential elections.
Omtatah’s petition seeks a series of far-reaching orders, including the abolition of the National Tallying Centre as currently configured, public posting of all final constituency results at each constituency, and the removal of verification powers allegedly exercised by county returning officers and the IEBC Chairperson.
“It is unconstitutional for any law or regulation to introduce a second layer of verification at the county or national level,” he noted, referencing Articles 86 and 138 of the Constitution, which govern tallying and declaration of presidential results.
He maintains that if granted, the petition will overhaul the management of future presidential elections and ensure that the sovereignty expressed at the polling station and constituency levels is not tampered with through centralized verification processes.
“This petition will fundamentally transform the management of presidential elections from 2027 onwards, ensuring a transparent, decentralised, and constitutionally faithful process with no ‘Bomas drama’ and no ambiguity,” he said.
The petition comes as the electoral commission faces growing pressure to reform its administrative structure ahead of the 2027 General Elections, including clarifying the role of the chairperson and returning officers. This matter was heavily litigated during the 2022 presidential results dispute.
Omtatah has positioned the petition as part of his broader commitment to safeguard constitutionalism and ensure that future elections stand on what he calls “the letter and spirit of the Constitution,” free from improvised systems and administrative discretion.
