Kuria Wants IEBC to Test Electronic Presidential Tallying in 2027

Former Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria wants the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to run a dual tallying system in the 2027 General Election, arguing it could pave the way for a fully electronic presidential result transmission system by 2032.

Under his proposal, the electoral body would maintain two separate national tallies per constituency: an unverified count based on electronic results transmitted from constituency returning officers, and a verified tally based on physical Form 34 documents processed at the National Tallying Centre.

Kuria said comparing the electronic and physical tallies during the 2027 polls would help establish whether discrepancies exist between transmitted figures and physical forms.

"If there is none in 2027, we run 2032 based purely on electronic forms and save the country that meaningless drama at Bomas," Kuria wrote in a post on his X platform.

The former CS said his proposal stems from his personal experience observing national tallying exercises at the Kenya International Convention Centre (KICC) in 2007 and at the Bomas of Kenya during the 2013, 2017, and 2022 elections.

He added that while livestreaming presidential results is necessary, displaying images of physical forms alone is insufficient to guarantee complete transparency in the tallying process.

The proposal comes amid ongoing controversy over proposed legal amendments to the Elections Act. Concerns had emerged that Parliament was seeking to remove statutory requirements for live transmission of election results.

National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung'wah, however, clarified that Parliament deleted Clause 22 of the Elections (Amendment) Bill, 2024, preserving Section 39(1G) of the Elections Act.

"The streamed results are for public information only and shall not be the basis for declaration by the Commission. That is the law as it is, and it has not changed," Ichung'wah said.

The dispute over result transmission has since shifted to the courts. Advocate John Muremi Njomo filed a petition challenging the proposed legislative changes and the legal status of live presidential result transmission.

Justice David Mburu certified the petition as urgent and scheduled the matter for directions on November 2.