HIGH COURT RULES IEBC CANNOT ALTER PRESIDENTIAL RESULTS DECLARED AT CONSTITUENCY LEVEL.

The High Court on Tuesday ruled that the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has no authority to alter, revise or cancel presidential election results already declared and certified at the constituency level, while upholding the commission’s constitutional mandate to tally and verify those results nationally ahead of the 2027 General Election.

Justice Gregory Mutai dismissed petitions filed by Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah and opposition leaders, including those associated with Kalonzo Musyoka and Rigathi Gachagua. The petitioners had sought to scrap the national tallying and verification process at the National Tallying Centre, arguing that constituency returning officers make the final declaration of presidential results and that further national scrutiny creates an unconstitutional second layer of verification.



In his judgment, Justice Mutai held that the Constitution and electoral laws require the IEBC to aggregate and verify presidential results at the national level before declaring the overall outcome. He noted that a presidential candidate must secure more than 50 per cent of the national vote and at least 25 per cent of the votes in more than half of the counties under Article 138(4). These thresholds, the court said, cannot be confirmed solely at constituency or county level, making national aggregation “a necessary and rational corollary” of the constitutional framework.

However, the judge drew a firm line on the limits of that process. “The tally and verify function is accordingly not an unconstitutional intrusion upon the constituency finality,” Justice Mutai stated. He emphasised that verification under Regulation 83(2) of the Elections (General) Regulations means checking whether the aggregated national figures correspond with those certified by constituency returning officers. It does not empower the commission “to add, subtract, multiply, divide, cancel or otherwise revise any individual constituency figures.”



The court declared that presidential results declared and certified at the constituency level are final and can only be challenged before an election court. Certified Forms 34A and 34B, or their successors, displayed at constituency tallying centres must serve as the primary reference documents for national aggregation. Where discrepancies arise between electronic transmissions and physical documents, the results verified and declared at the polling station level shall prevail.

The IEBC had opposed the petitions, arguing that national tallying is provided for in law, serves to confirm accuracy, and does not permit alteration of constituency results. The commission maintained that the process involves checking and aggregating figures received from the 290 constituencies. Justice Mutai agreed with this position but stressed that the verification exercise must be conducted collectively by the commission rather than by any single official.

The ruling comes amid ongoing debate over electoral reforms and the role of the National Tallying Centre, traditionally hosted at Bomas of Kenya, as the country prepares for the 2027 polls. Petitioners had contended that centralised verification has historically fuelled mistrust and political tension. The court rejected calls to invalidate key provisions of Section 39 of the Elections Act and related regulations, finding the national framework constitutional when properly limited.

Legal observers noted that the decision reaffirms principles established in earlier cases, including the 2017 Maina Kiai litigation, which held that constituency results are final and not subject to unilateral change at the national level. The judgment directs that its principles on documentary primacy and collective decision-making be considered in finalising electoral reforms.

The High Court’s decision clarifies the boundaries of IEBC’s powers: the commission may tally and verify to ensure constitutional thresholds are met, but it cannot rewrite the will of voters as expressed and certified at the constituency level. Any disputes over those certified results must proceed through the courts.