By SANDRA MULOMI
The People’s Coalition on Electoral Reforms has called on Parliament to urgently amend the Elections Act, warning that failure to address contentious provisions on the counting, tallying and declaration of results could undermine public confidence in the 2027 General Election.
The coalition wants the National Assembly and the Senate to adopt proposed changes to Section 39 of the Elections Act, arguing that the law must guarantee transparency, accountability and the integrity of election results.
In a statement issued on October 27, the coalition said Parliament had missed an opportunity to address the disputed provisions after dropping the proposed amendments to Section 39 from legislation passed last week.
“The net effect of the law as passed last week by Parliament is that the country is back to square zero,” the coalition said, maintaining that the law still required amendments to align it with constitutional principles and previous court decisions.
The coalition brings together political parties, faith-based organisations, professional associations, civil society groups, academics and student movements seeking changes to Kenya’s electoral framework.
It said concerns about the counting, tallying, transmission and announcement of election results had persisted for decades, with disputes over the credibility of electoral processes contributing to political tensions and undermining public trust.
The coalition cited the 2017 Maina Kiai case, in which the courts considered provisions of the Elections Act and regulations governing the declaration of election results. It argued that the legal framework should protect results declared at polling stations from administrative alteration, except through the appropriate legal processes.
It also referred to a recent ruling in the Okiya Okoiti Omtatah versus Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) case, in which the High Court reportedly observed that Section 39 remained open to amendment by Parliament.
According to the coalition, Parliament should now consider its proposed changes, which it says are designed to strengthen safeguards against interference with election results.
The coalition has outlined four principal amendments it wants Parliament to consider.
The first is what it calls absolute polling station finality, under which votes would be counted, declared and published immediately at each polling station. It proposes that the figures recorded at that level should not be altered administratively and should only be challenged through an election court.
The second proposal would require presiding officers to electronically transmit voter turnout figures every hour on election day through a publicly accessible portal.
The coalition argues that continuous publication of turnout figures would improve transparency and make it harder to introduce fictitious voters into the process after polling closes.
Its third proposal calls for constituency returning officers to tally results locally, publish the figures directly on a public web portal and livestream declarations at constituency tallying centres.
The fourth proposal seeks to replace centralised national aggregation of presidential results with an open process in which constituency totals and diaspora results would be displayed and aggregated publicly.
Under the proposal, the IEBC chairperson and commissioners would oversee the public aggregation of results transmitted through secure, read-only systems before the presidential result is declared in accordance with Article 138 of the Constitution.
The coalition maintains that these changes would limit opportunities for interference with results and strengthen public confidence in the electoral process.
The group also announced what it described as a period of heightened national vigilance on electoral integrity in the 288 days leading up to the August 2027 General Election.
It accused Parliament of failing to protect the public interest by dropping the proposed amendments and raised concerns about the IEBC’s accountability and the management of election-related processes.
The coalition further alleged that the current arrangements could expose the electoral process to manipulation. It warned against waiting until election day to address weaknesses in the legal and administrative framework.
However, the allegations that the President, Parliament or the IEBC intend to manipulate the 2027 election are claims made by the coalition and would require independent evidence. The statement did not provide evidence establishing that such a plan exists.
As part of its next steps, the coalition said it would introduce its proposed amendment Bill in both the National Assembly and the Senate.
It also plans to convene a multi-stakeholder conference within the next two weeks to explain the proposed changes and discuss other urgent electoral reforms.
The group said it would immediately begin nationwide civic education and public mobilisation to build support for the amendments.
Beyond changes to Section 39, the coalition outlined five additional demands: the removal of a national tallying centre for presidential results, protection of the integrity of the voters’ register, election technology that meets constitutional requirements, amendments to the Elections Offences Act to hold election officials personally accountable for offences, and transparent recruitment of election officials.
The coalition said its proposals were intended to strengthen safeguards around the electoral process before the next General Election.
It urged Parliament to prioritise the proposed amendments, arguing that electoral integrity must be secured through legal and institutional safeguards well before Kenyans go to the polls in August 2027.
