Voters tallying at the National Center has sparked a clash between Aden Duale and David Maraga. Former Chief Justice David Maraga, who is currently a presidential aspirant for the 2027 General Election, has triggered a political and constitutional debate after demanding the complete abolition of the national presidential tallying center.
Speaking to the press on Wednesday, September 16, 2026, Maraga said the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) must not establish any national voters tallying at the Bomas of Kenya or elsewhere ahead of the upcoming polls.
Addressing journalists, Maraga cited Article 138(2) of the Constitution, which dictates that a presidential election shall be held in each constituency.
“The Constitution makes no provision for a national tallying center; the management of election outcomes must strictly abide by constitutional boundaries rather than administrative traditions.” Maraga directly declared.
The former Chief Justice pointed to Article 86 and Article 138 of the Constitution, maintaining that votes must be counted, tallied, and the final results announced by presiding officers at individual polling stations.
Kisii during a tour with the Linda Mwananchi team.
Maraga Calling Out IEBC Over Voters Tallying
“You know, the Maina Kiai decision made it very clear that the results announced at the polling stations are final and cannot be altered by anybody. They cannot be altered by the commissioners of IEBC themselves or any other person.” Maraga stated.
Maraga highlighted that for presidential elections, the Constitution requires Form 34A results from polling stations to be openly, accurately, and promptly collected and announced by returning officers at the constituency level. He insisted that the constituency level marks the end of result verification.
To support his legal stance, Maraga referred to the 2017 and 2022 Supreme Court rulings. He said that the courts found a national voters tallying center to be a site of opacity and division, and that the supreme law nowhere authorizes the IEBC Chairperson or the Commission to retally or re-verify election results already finalized at lower levels.
Under Article 138(10), Maraga clarified the mandate of the IEBC Chairperson which is to declare the final presidential election result based on aggregated constituency returns.
“The Constitution doesn’t give IEBC any authority to re-tally the results that have been announced at the polling stations and at the constituency level,” Maraga clarified.
Issuing a stern warning to the electoral body, Maraga called for immediate structural changes before the next polls.
“So, the first mandatory reform that we are asking before the 2027 general election is that there shall be no tallying center in Bomas or elsewhere, and the IEBC chairman and commissioner shall not retally, re-verify or alter the results declared at the constituencies and at the polling stations,” Maraga warned.
The address drew a harsh response from Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale.
Taking to his official X account on Wednesday, September 16, 2026, Duale dismissed Maraga’s constitutional interpretation regarding voters tallying and result transmission.
“Really? Who will do the aggregation of the results from the thousands of polling stations across the country, Mr. Former CJ? Read the Constitution and electoral laws. ” Duale wrote.
Duale challenged Maraga to explain the practical mechanics of declaring a national winner if no central commission exists to receive and sum up the 290 constituency tallies.
Statutory electoral laws and judicial precedents recognize that while the IEBC Chairperson cannot alter primary polling station results (Form 34A) or constituency tallies (Form 34B), the Commission is constitutionally obligated to aggregate these returns at a central venue into Form 34C to confirm whether a candidate has met the dual threshold of over 50% plus one vote nationally and 25% in at least 24 counties under Article 138(4)
crowd of supporters during a grassroots rally. Photo | Maraga on X
