Okiya Omtatah moves to court seeking to bar IEBC from changing security on ballot papers

Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah has moved to court to stop the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) from making changes to security features on the ballot paper ahead of the 2027 General Election.

Omtatah, who leads the National Reconstruction Alliance Party, wants the court to review and quash the changes, arguing that IEBC has not demonstrated that the revised specifications will provide equivalent or better protection against electoral malpractice.

In his petition filed under certificate of urgency against IEBC and Attorney General Dorcas Oduor, the Busia legislator through his National Reconstruction Alliance Party, argues that any decision diminishing the safeguards to secure the integrity of ballot papers directly implicates the constitutional integrity of Kenya’s electoral system.

The present Petition challenges the decision of the IEBC to reduce security features prescribed for ballot papers.

Furthermore, the impugned addendum purports to relax mandatory technical security specifications applicable to ballot papers, including requirements relating to tapered serialization, guilloche security patterns, micro-text and embossing.

Senator Omtatah further argues that under the original tender document, the ballot papers were required to incorporate, among other safeguards, uniquely generated guilloche security patterns integrated with variable data, micro-text incorporating variable data, unique machine-readable QR codes incorporating variable data, and tapered serialization using multi-coloured ink.

In addition he argues that the petition raises serious constitutional questions concerning the obligation of the IEBC to maintain a voting system that is secure, verifiable, transparent and accountable and to put in place appropriate mechanisms to eliminate electoral malpractice.

The relaxation of the security architecture before an election, the legislator Omtatah argues, creates a an immediate public-interest concern because once ballot papers are printed and deployed, the inadequate security measures may be incapable of being practically reversed.

The dispute stems from Tender No. IEBC/OIT/02/2026-2027, which IEBC advertised on August 11, 2026, for the supply of ballot papers and other electoral materials with the commission later introduced what it described as technical relaxation to optimise cost and timelines through an Addendum dated September 17, 2026.