The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission on Wednesday announced that results from the November 27 by-elections are now available on its public portal, urging Kenyans to rely on verified tallies after a tense campaign season marked by allegations of intimidation, chaotic mobilisations and competing claims of interference.
The by-elections were held in constituencies and wards where earlier poll outcomes had been nullified by courts or where vacancies had emerged. Key contests played out in Malava, Mbeere North, Banisa, Baringo, Ugunja, and Magarini, alongside several county assembly seats. Each race drew heavy political interest, with senior national figures descending on the ground to energise supporters and frame the polls as a broader test of political strength.
In Malava, the showdown between DAP-K’s Seth Panyako and UDA’s David Ndakwa sparked sharp exchanges, with both sides accusing each other of ferrying in supporters and deploying aggressive campaign teams. The campaigns routinely clashed over security arrangements after reports of confrontations between rival groups in trading centres and outside polling stations.
In Mbeere North, UDA’s Leonard Muthende and Democratic Party candidate Newton Karish ran bitter, personality-driven campaigns coloured by allegations of voter manipulation and concerns about discrepancies in voter identification. Lawyers representing Karish repeatedly raised questions over the accuracy of both KIEMS kits and printed registers, setting the stage for a possible court challenge even before polls closed.
Banisa’s race, won by Ahmed Hassan, was quieter but still competitive, with clan alignments shaping last-minute negotiations. Similar dynamics unfolded in Baringo, Ugunja and Magarini, where local party structures mounted intense door-to-door campaigns to consolidate turnout.
As ballots were counted Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning, the IEBC moved to upload Form 34A and Form 34B images from polling stations onto its public results portal. The commission said the decision was aimed at giving Kenyans “an unfiltered, real-time view of the tallying process” as unverified figures spread widely across social media.
By mid-morning, results from all major polling centres had been posted, confirming victories for Ndakwa in Malava, Muthende in Mbeere North, Hassan in Banisa, Vincent Chemitei in Baringo, Moses Omondi in Ugunja, and Harrison Kombe in Magarini. Officials said more forms would continue to appear as returning officers completed verification.
“The public should trust only the data posted on the official portal,” an IEBC official said, cautioning voters against anonymous online tallies circulating overnight.
The commission’s move to foreground transparency comes as it faces renewed scrutiny following clashes between rival campaign teams, accusations of state interference and claims of heavy-handed security deployment during the vote. For affected communities, the portal now serves as the final, authoritative record of how their races unfolded—and how their choices were counted.
