A powerful coalition of opposition leaders filed a high-stakes constitutional petition seeking extensive reforms to how presidential votes are tallied, transmitted, and declared. Led by former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and Wiper Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka, the petition challenges key aspects of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC)’s long-standing practices and calls for a radical shift toward transparency and decentralization ahead of the 2027 General Election.
Filed in the High Court’s Constitutional and Human Rights Division in Nairobi, the petition demands a complete overhaul of the tallying process – placing particular emphasis on making presidential results final at the constituency level. According to the opposition, this change is essential to eliminate what they describe as an unnecessary, unconstitutional, and manipulable layer of verification at the national tallying center.
“The national tallying centre should only collate and announce the results it receives from constituencies not ‘verify,’ change, or reject them,” stated advocate Gitobu Imanyara, who is representing the petitioners. His remarks directly challenge the IEBC’s long-standing administrative practice of subjecting constituency results to a second round of scrutiny in Nairobi.
The opposition argues that this centralized verification process has repeatedly triggered litigation, political tension, and public mistrust – citing disputes in the 2013, 2017, and 2022 general elections. Notably, the Supreme Court nullified the 2017 presidential election due to what it famously described as “irregularities and illegalities” in the transmission of results.
Beyond the finality of constituency results, the petition demands three additional reforms that could significantly reshape the 2027 electoral framework. First, the IEBC must gazette all polling stations at least six months before the election, a move intended to curb the emergence of unpublicized or “ghost” stations. Second, the petition seeks mandatory ballot reconciliation at the polling station level to ensure accuracy before transmission. Third, the coalition calls for a declaration that the IEBC’s centralized verification and declaration of presidential results is unconstitutional, null, and void.
Kalonzo Musyoka emphasized the petition’s broader mission: “We are not asking for favors; we are demanding fairness. Kenya cannot continue recycling the same election mistakes every five years.” Gachagua suppoerted this, insisting that transparent and predictable rules are essential to protect the will of the voter.
If upheld, the petition could force the IEBC to adopt a far more decentralized results system – potentially reshaping Kenya’s presidential election architecture and altering how future electoral disputes are managed.
