Maraga-led coalition wants Bomas scrapped as national tallying centre
The coalition is proposing that the electoral process should end at the constituency level for purposes of tallying presidential results, with the IEBC chairperson’s role limited to declaring the outcome.
A coalition led by former Chief Justice David Maraga is advocating for the abolition of Bomas of Kenya as the national presidential tallying centre ahead of the 2027 General Election. The People’s Coalition on Electoral Reforms argues that the Constitution does not prescribe a central facility for tallying presidential votes and suggests that the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) should not be allowed to retally, re-verify, or alter presidential results.
The coalition proposes that the electoral process should conclude at the constituency level, with the IEBC chairperson's role limited to declaring the outcome based on results received from constituencies. This stance is based on Article 138(2) of the Constitution, which mandates presidential elections to be held in each constituency, and Articles 86 and 138, which stipulate that votes must be counted, tallied, verified, and announced at polling stations and constituency tallying centres.
The coalition references the Supreme Court's Maina Kiai case, which established the importance of results declared at polling stations in determining the final presidential tally. They argue that once results have been declared by a presiding officer at a polling station, they are final and should not be subsequently changed by the IEBC.
If implemented, this proposal would fundamentally alter the way Kenya conducts presidential elections, removing the national-level tallying stage traditionally undertaken by the IEBC at Bomas of Kenya.
Brief written by urgent.news from Capital FM Kenya's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
