The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) is facing a fresh legal challenge over the role of the National Tallying Centre as preparations intensify for the 2027 General Election.
The dispute has placed the commission’s mandate to tally and verify presidential election results at the centre of a constitutional debate involving former Chief Justice David Maraga and other political actors.
Maraga and the People’s Coalition on Electoral Reforms have called for the abolition of the National Tallying Centre at Bomas of Kenya, arguing that the Constitution does not expressly establish such a facility.
The coalition maintains that presidential votes should be counted and results announced at polling stations before being collated at constituency level.
The group has also argued that IEBC commissioners should not retally, re-verify or alter presidential results that have already been declared at polling stations and constituencies.
The position has been challenged by the electoral commission, which maintains that the national tallying process forms part of its constitutional and statutory responsibilities.
IEBC chairman Erastus Ethekon has previously defended the National Tallying Centre, saying the commission is required to receive and tally presidential results submitted through the established electoral structures before the chairperson makes the final declaration.
The legal debate partly stems from previous presidential election disputes, particularly the 2017 and 2022 petitions.
The Supreme Court has previously addressed the relationship between results declared at polling stations and the IEBC’s responsibility to verify and tally presidential results.
In its 2022 presidential election judgment, the Supreme Court held that the responsibility for tallying and verifying presidential results at the national level rests with the IEBC as a commission, while the declaration of the final result is assigned to the chairperson.
The High Court is expected to deliver its ruling on the challenge to the National Tallying Centre on September 22, 2026.
The decision could clarify how constitutional provisions, the Elections Act and existing electoral regulations should be applied to presidential results management ahead of the 2027 poll.
The dispute comes as IEBC continues preparations for the August 2027 election, with electoral reforms, technology, voter registration and results management emerging as key issues in the preparations.