A major constitutional petition by Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah is now seeking to overhaul how Kenya manages presidential election results. The senator has filed a case in the High Court asking judges to declare the National Tallying Centre unconstitutional and to revert final result verification strictly to the constituency level.
According to Omtatah, the Constitution is clear: presidential votes are tallied, verified and declared at the 290 constituencies, and once the Returning Officer signs Form 34B, the results are final and binding. He argues that the National Tallying Centre, created through the Elections Act and subsequent regulations, has introduced an unlawful second verification process that distorts this constitutional framework.
Omtatah says this parallel process has allowed room for delays, interference, manipulation and mistrust issues that have repeatedly triggered disputes in previous elections. He further accuses the IEBC Chairperson and County Returning Officers of exercising powers not assigned to them by the Constitution, including altering or re-tallying constituency results.
“The National Tallying Centre treats final constituency results as provisional, which is unconstitutional,” Omtatah states in the petition. He adds that the Chairperson’s role is purely clerical: to add up the constituency totals and declare the president-elect.
The petition seeks sweeping changes, including the abolition of the National Tallying Centre in its current form, deletion of legal provisions that enable layered verification, and mandatory immediate public posting of final results at constituency level. Omtatah also calls for restoration of strict compliance with Articles 86 and 138 of the Constitution, which guide transparent, simple and accountable elections.
He also faults delays in publishing results and reliance on the IEBC’s digital portal, arguing that physical access to tallies remains essential for transparency, especially in rural areas.
The IEBC, Attorney General, National Assembly, Senate and the IEBC Chairperson have all been named as respondents, while the Katiba Institute has joined as an interested party due to its constitutional expertise.
Omtatah maintains the petition is about safeguarding the sovereign will of Kenyans. If successful, it could fundamentally reshape presidential election management from 2027 onwards, eliminating long-standing disputes associated with the national tallying process.
