Maraga Says Diaspora Kenyans Reject National Tallying Centre Ahead of 2027 Election

Jukwaa

📻 Breaking It Down

Maraga said the concerns emerged during two town hall meetings he held with Kenyans in the diaspora in Baltimore, Maryland, and Jersey City, New Jersey, on September 19 and 20.

According to Maraga, participants raised concerns over healthcare, education, corruption and governance, while also highlighting the financial burden of supporting families in Kenya through remittances.

“They were unanimous in saying ‘No’ to a national tallying centre,” Maraga said in a statement posted on Monday.

📌 What You Need to Know

The former Chief Justice said young Kenyans at the meetings also raised concerns about foreign influence in Kenya, including what they described as manipulation behind legislation such as the Cyber Crimes Bill.

He said the participants also expressed concern over foreign land deals across Africa.

Maraga said he briefed the diaspora communities on the People’s Coalition on Electoral Reforms, which he co-leads, and its five proposed mandatory reforms ahead of the 2027 polls.

The proposals include the removal of a national tallying centre, an audit and strengthening of the integrity of the voters’ register, tougher penalties for electoral offences, election technology that is pre-tested and independently scrutinised, and stronger integrity safeguards for IEBC personnel and administrative processes.

The coalition has previously called for the abolition of the national presidential tallying centre at Bomas of Kenya, arguing that presidential results declared at polling stations and constituency level should not be retallied or altered at a central venue.

The coalition’s demands have, however, drawn criticism from government officials, with Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale defending the national tallying process and questioning how results from thousands of polling stations would be aggregated without a national process.

📰 Source: Capital FM Kenya

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