Busia Senator and human rights activist Okiya Omtatah has filed a petition in the High Court, seeking to abolish the National Tallying Centre for presidential elections, arguing that its existence violates Kenya’s 2010 Constitution.
The case, registered as Petition No. E757 of 2025 argues that Section 39 of the Act, Regulation 83(2), and the current IEBC practice contradict the Constitution, especially regarding where presidential votes should be tallied, verified, and declared final.
Omtatah’s Argument
According to Omtatah, the Constitution of Kenya (Article 86 and 138) says the presidential election is decided in the 290 constituencies.
He added that the constitution is also clear on the IEBC chairman’s role, which is to simply add up the 290 constituency results and declare who has met the threshold of 50% + 1 and 25% in 24 counties.
This is not the case currently, as Section 39 of The Elections Act and the Regulation 83(2) of the Regulations established a National Tallying Centre, where presidential results are sent for a second round of “verification” and “tallying”.
The Busia Senator argues that this creates an unnecessary and illegal layer that enables alteration, manipulation, or delay of the results, which are already final according to the Constitution.
Omtatah argues that this entire process is unconstitutional because it treats constituency results as provisional, even though the constitution stipulates that they are final.
He also states that the process creates an extra and unnecessary layer that was the source of the disputes, delays, and suspected manipulation in the 2013, 2017, and 2022 general elections.
The Busia Senator also pointed out in the petition that the process renders the County Returning Officers and the National Tallying Centre redundant and illegal, as it violates the public’s right to information (Article 35) because most Kenyans, especially in rural areas, cannot access the IEBC portal.
Key Issues Being Challenged
Okiya Omtatah wants the High Court to declare the National Tallying Centre unconstitutional for presidential elections.
The petition argues that the IEBC Chairperson’s role under Article 138(10) is purely clerical, limited to adding up the final constituency results and declaring the presidential winner.
The Chairperson has no authority to verify or change the results already declared in the constituencies.
The petition states that for true transparency, final constituency results must be immediately published on public noticeboards and made available to the media as soon as they are declared, in line with the public’s right to information (Article 35).
The petitioner says the multi-layered verification system is unconstitutional and a threat to transparent and fair elections because it:
- Undermines transparency
- Enables possible interference
- Delays the release of results; and
- Contradicts the Constitution’s clear presidential results tallying procedure.
Why Omtatah has Filed the Petition
The human rights defender seeks to fundamentally reshape how presidential elections are managed.
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According to Omtatah, if the petition is successful, it will lead to:
- The abolition of the National Tallying Centre as currently structured
- Removal of verification powers from county returning officers and the IEBC Chairperson
- Immediate public posting of constituency results
- Greater transparency and public access to results; and
- Reaffirmation of constituency results as final.
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Omtatah stated that through the petition, he is asking the court to return the presidential election to the exact system the 2010 Constitution created.
He concluded by stating that he seeks to ensure strict compliance with the constitution, transparency, equal access to election information, prevention of manipulation, and preservation of the people’s sovereign will as it is expressed at the constituency level.
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