Court allows IEBC to move Tharaka Nithi tallying centre
IEBC Chairman Wafula Chebukati. The High Court has upheld the decision of the electoral commission to move Tharaka Nithi county tallying centre from Kathwana Social Hall in Chuka sub-county to Chiakariga Girls High School in Tharaka sub-county.
The High Court has upheld the decision of the electoral commission to move Tharaka Nithi county tallying centre from Kathwana Social Hall in Chuka sub-county to Chiakariga Girls High School in Tharaka sub-county.
Justice Lucy Gitari found that the facility at Kathwana is owned by the county government, hence it cannot be termed as a neutral venue, while the hall in Chiakariga is the property of the national government and was used in previous general elections.
The court also found that although the Elections (General) Regulations require county tallying centres to be situated at the county headquarters, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) had merited concerns after some candidates raised questions about use of Kathwana Social Hall. The facility is in Chuka Igamba/Ng'ombe constituency, the county headquarters, while Chiakariga is in Tharaka sub-county.
Lawyer Charles Mwongela for IEBC, told the court that the Kathwana Social Hall is the property of the county government and is associated with the incumbent Governor Muthomi Njuki, who is a candidate in the elections.
Rushed completion
"The social hall has been an incomplete building for many years and its completion was rushed by the county government of Tharaka Nithi in the eve of its gazettement and this further dented its neutrality as expected of tallying centres. The social hall is very close to the office of the incumbent governor and neighbours an unfinished building that poses security threats," said Mr Mwongela.
In addition, that the Kathwana Social Hall lacks sufficient parking space, is not fenced and is unsafe for the IEBC officers and its property, he said.
On the other hand, he said that Chiakariga Girls High School is fenced, secure, with ample parking space and not associated with any candidate.
Stating that Chiakariga Girls High School served as the county tallying centre in 2013 and 2017 elections, Mr Mwongela told the court that IEBC's decision to use the Kathwana Social Hall in 2022 since it is located at the county headquarters, had received concerns from various candidates, hence the agency resolved to reinstate Chiakariga as the county tallying centre.
Petition
While dismissing petition filed by a voter Micheal Kimathi to quash the relocation, the court further noted that time had run out and IEBC had already placed installations at Chiakariga Girls High School hall such as computers, printers, backup generator and a strong room for keeping election statutory forms.
In addition, the Kenya Integrated Election Management System (Kiems) kits had already been configured on GPS location to transmit results to Chiakariga Girls High School and a change of tallying centre late in the day will necessitate recalling back of the said kits from the county to the IEBC’s headquarters for reconfiguration, a process that would take more than ten days.
The petitioner had argued that IEBC had abused its administrative powers by moving the tallying centre without engaging the relevant stakeholders through public participation.
But the court observed that granting the orders sought by the petitioner would have led to postponement of elections for senator, woman rep and governor of Tharaka Nithi County.
