Opposition leaders file petition challenging IEBC’s 'centralisation of presidential election results'

A coalition of senior political leaders has moved to the High Court in Nairobi seeking sweeping constitutional declarations that could fundamentally alter the way Kenya's presidential election results are tallied and declared.

In a petition filed before the Constitutional and Human Rights Division, the United Opposition of Coalition Leaders, represented by Gitobu Imanyara and Company Advocates, is asking the court to declare that the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has consistently violated the Constitution by centralising the verification, collation and declaration of presidential results at the National Tallying Centre.

The coalition, which includes political figures Stephen Kalonzo Musyoka, Rigathi Gachagua, Fred Matiang'i, Eugene Wamalwa, Mithika Linturi, JB Muturi, and the People's Liberation Party, says IEBC's long-standing practice of subjecting constituency-level presidential results to further scrutiny at the national level is extra-constitutional and has been the source of distrust, litigation and political instability since 2013.

According to the petition, the Constitution requires that presidential results be tallied and verified at the polling station and constituency levels, and that the national tallying centre's role be limited to aggregating the final figures already declared by constituency returning officers.

By creating what the petitioners term a "parallel and superior verification stage", IEBC allegedly opens the door to manipulation, delays, and confusion over which results are final.

The leaders argue that Articles 81, 86, and 138 of the Constitution establish a decentralised results-management structure where accuracy, transparency, accountability and prompt declaration are mandatory.

They insist that the results declared at the constituency tallying centres must be deemed final for purposes of the national presidential tally.

The petition also faults IEBC for repeatedly failing to enforce ballot reconciliation at polling stations before transmitting results electronically, saying this omission undermines the verifiability and accountability of presidential results.

Further, the coalition claims IEBC has a habit of publishing polling station lists and voters' registers too close to election day, denying the public sufficient time to verify the accuracy of the information.

Citing Kenya's history of "ghost workers" and "ghost schools", the petition warns that the delayed gazettement of polling stations creates opportunities for similar electoral malpractice.

The coalition is now asking the High Court to issue far-reaching declarations, including that the results declared by constituency returning officers are final and binding.

"IEBC's national tallying centre has no authority to alter, re-tally or invalidate those results, and the administrative practice of centralised verification is unconstitutional and ballot reconciliation must be mandatory before any results are transmitted."

They are further seeking orders of prohibition restraining IEBC from subjecting presidential results to fresh scrutiny at the national tallying centre, and orders of mandamus compelling it to implement a transparent results-management system anchored in mandatory reconciliation and the finality of constituency-level results.

The petitioners maintain that the current framework violates Articles 10, 38, 47, 81, 86 and 138 of the Constitution and undermines the sovereignty of the people.

The case was filed on November 17, 2025, and the petitioners want the court to issue any additional relief it deems just, as well as the costs of the suit.

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