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

NAIROBI, Kenya, Sep 21 — Former Chief Justice and 2027 presidential hopeful David Maraga says Kenyans living in the United States have called for the scrapping of a national tallying centre ahead of the 2027 General Election.

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.

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.

Maraga said his manifesto would prioritise education, healthcare, agriculture and youth unemployment.

He told the diaspora audience that his experience as Chief Justice demonstrated his willingness to make decisive decisions and said he would make the fight against corruption a central priority of his administration.

The former Chief Justice has previously identified corruption as a key issue in his 2027 agenda and pledged to implement existing anti-corruption laws while digitising government procurement and other government processes.

On foreign policy, Maraga said his proposed administration would adopt what he described as an “Africaward looking” approach.

He said Kenya would seek to move beyond approaches focused primarily on East, West or Gulf relations and instead pursue a broader pan-African strategy on economic and security matters.

According to Maraga, the approach would seek to strengthen African countries’ collective negotiating position on the global stage.

The engagements in the United States come as Maraga continues to campaign for electoral reforms ahead of the August 2027 General Election. He has recently held discussions with US lawmakers, civil society organisations and think tanks on the People’s Coalition’s electoral reform agenda.