Court allows IEBC to change tallying centre in ChweleKabuchai by-election

National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula casts his vote at Namakhele Primary School in Chwele–Kabuchai Ward on Nov 27, 2025. [Benjamin Sakwa, Standard]

The High Court in Bungoma has thrown out two urgent petitions seeking to block the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) from relocating the Chwele–Kabuchai Ward by-election tallying centre, ruling that the electoral agency acted lawfully, transparently, and in the public interest.

In a late-evening judgment delivered on Wednesday, Justice Mwanaisha Shariff upheld IEBC’s decision to move the tallying centre from Musese CDF Hall to Kisiwa Technical Institute, citing security concerns, stakeholder consultations, and proper legal procedure.

The ruling now clears the final obstacle to today’s by-election.

The petitions filed separately by MCA aspirant Erick Wekesa and voter Ben Paul Wangila challenged IEBC’s last-minute shift of the tallying venue.

The petitioners argued that Musese CDF Hall had been officially gazetted on October 29, 2025, through Gazette Notice No. 15734, and that IEBC lacked the authority to “secretly and unlawfully” replace it with a new centre outside the ward.

They accused the commission of violating Article 38 on political rights and argued that voters had a legitimate expectation that tallying would take place at Musese CDF Hall, where the community has historically converged to witness results.

Both petitioners described the decision as “abrupt, unjustified and lacking transparency,” claiming that the move sowed suspicion among candidates and risked tainting the credibility of the poll.

But in a detailed affidavit, Kabuchai Constituency Returning Officer Henry Bahati Lumiti told the court that the Hall was deemed unsafe due to rising political tension and threats allegedly issued by the area MP, who is aligned with one of the petitioners.

Justice Shariff held that the Elections Act and the Elections (General) Regulations give IEBC the exclusive mandate to designate, alter, or replace a tallying centre as long as the decision is transparent, justified, and properly gazetted.

“The petitioners have failed to demonstrate how their rights have been infringed,” the judge ruled.  On the contrary, evidence before this Court shows that consultation was undertaken, security concerns were well-founded, and the change was lawfully gazetted," she directed.