A political party linked to Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah has moved to the High Court seeking to stop the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) from relaxing ballot paper security features ahead of the 2027 General Election.
The National Reconstruction Alliance (NRA) Party wants the court to suspend changes introduced through an IEBC addendum dated September 17, 2026, arguing that the revisions could weaken safeguards against counterfeiting, duplication and manipulation of ballot papers.
The dispute stems from a tender advertised by the commission on August 11, 2026, for the supply and delivery of ballot papers, tactile folders, the Register of Voters and statutory election result declaration forms under a three-year framework contract.
In its petition, NRA challenges changes to the security specifications that were mandatory under the original tender, including requirements for multi-coloured serial numbers, variable guilloche security patterns and variable micro-text. The contested addendum allows single-colour black serialisation instead of multi-coloured serial numbers, static guilloche patterns instead of variable designs, and static micro-text. It also permits blind embossing without metallic foil stamping.
The commission described the revisions as a “TECHNICAL RELAXATION TO OPTIMIZE COST & TIMELINES”.
NRA Secretary-General Amemba Magufuli, in an affidavit supporting the petition, argues that the security of ballot papers cannot be treated as an ordinary procurement consideration because of their central role in the electoral process. “The ballot paper is not an ordinary commodity or merely an item to be acquired through a procurement process,” Magufuli states.
He argues that ballot papers are the physical instruments through which Kenyans express their sovereign will and that their security features are intended to protect electoral materials against counterfeiting, duplication, unauthorised reproduction, substitution and manipulation.
The party acknowledges that the revised specifications retain other safeguards, including custom primary watermarks, embedded ultraviolet security elements, anti-copy backgrounds and anti-duplication QR codes. However, it argues that the IEBC has not demonstrated that the remaining features provide protection equivalent to that offered by the original specifications. “The Petitioner’s concern is not that every relaxation of a technical specification automatically renders a ballot paper insecure or invalid,” Magufuli says in the affidavit.
Rather, the party argues that the cumulative effect of relaxing several security features could reduce the overall protection of electoral materials. NRA wants the court to restrain the IEBC and the Attorney-General from implementing the changes, including procuring, printing, accepting delivery of, distributing or deploying ballot papers produced under the relaxed specifications, pending the determination of the case. It is also seeking a permanent injunction against the implementation of the changes, a declaration that the contested provisions are unconstitutional to the extent that equivalent security has not been demonstrated, and an order quashing the September 17 addendum.
The party argues that any alternative security specifications should be supported by an objective and independent technical assessment demonstrating that they provide equivalent or superior protection. It maintains that it is not alleging that the IEBC intends to facilitate electoral malpractice, but wants the court to intervene before the affected ballot papers are manufactured and distributed, warning that any security deficiencies could be difficult to remedy once the materials enter the electoral process.
The petition raises questions under Articles 38, 81 and 86 of the Constitution, which protect political rights and require elections to be free, fair, transparent, accurate, secure and verifiable. It also invokes Article 227, which requires public procurement to be fair, equitable, transparent, competitive and cost-effective. The dispute comes as preparations gather pace for the 2027 General Election, with the IEBC undertaking procurement of materials required to conduct the polls.
Article 86 of the Constitution requires the electoral system to be simple, accurate, verifiable, secure, accountable and transparent. The Elections (General) Regulations also provide for the rejection of ballot papers that do not bear security features determined by the commission, underscoring the importance of the specifications at the centre of the dispute.
