How a parallel tally works, and what counts.

Checked 27 October 2026 against the sources listed at the end.

What the law gives a candidate's agent at the polling station

From the Elections (General) Regulations, 2012, as Kenya Law prints them consolidated to 31 December 2022 (see what may change):

• The presiding officer may admit to the polling station a candidate, a person nominated as the candidate's deputy, authorised agents, members of the Commission and election officers on duty, police officers on duty, people assisting voters with special needs, and observers and media accredited by the Commission. No more than one agent for each candidate or political party is admitted, and the absence of agents does not invalidate the proceedings. Agents display the official badge the Commission supplies. (Regulation 62(1) to (4))
• Counting is done in the presence of the candidates or agents. For every ballot paper the presiding officer announces the candidate it was cast for and displays it to the candidates or agents so that they can ascertain the vote, and the count is recorded on a tallying sheet, Form 33. A candidate or agent has the right to dispute the inclusion of a ballot paper in the count, or to object to its rejection. (Regulation 76)
• The presiding officer, the candidates or agents sign the declaration of results. The presiding officer must announce the results at the polling station before communicating them to the returning officer, ask each candidate or agent present to sign, give each political party, candidate or agent a copy of the declaration, and affix a copy at the public entrance to the polling station or at another place convenient and accessible to the public. (Regulation 79(1) and (2A))
• A candidate or agent who refuses or fails to sign must record the reasons, and if they do not, the presiding officer records the fact. Refusing or failing to sign, or being absent when the results are announced, does not by itself invalidate the results announced. (Regulation 79(3) to (7))

So an agent in the station sees every ballot shown, can dispute one, signs the declaration or records why not, and leaves with a copy of it. That copy is what a parallel tally is built from.

The result forms

Each race has its own set of forms in the Schedule to the Regulations. The first, signed at the polling station, is the one a candidate or agent receives a copy of. The others record how results are collated and declared above it.

Titles and numbers are from the Schedule to the Regulations: for example Form 34A is "Presidential election results at the polling station" and Form 37C is "Declaration of the county Governor election results at the county tallying centre". The polling-station forms are made under regulation 79. At the polling station the count itself is first recorded on Form 33 (regulation 76).

How results move up

• Constituency returning officers tally, announce and declare the final results from each polling station for the National Assembly and county assembly elections. For President, Governor, Senator and county woman representative they collate and announce the results from each polling station and submit them: the President's to the national tallying centre, the others to the county returning officer. (Section 39(1A))
• County returning officers tally, announce and declare the final results from the constituencies in the county for Governor, Senator and county woman representative. (Section 39(1B))
• For a presidential election the Commission must electronically transmit and physically deliver the tabulated results from each polling station to the constituency and national tallying centres, tally and verify them there, and publish the polling result forms on an online public portal. (Section 39(1C))
• The Commission must verify that the results transmitted are an accurate record of the results tallied, verified and declared at the polling stations. Where the electronically transmitted and the physically delivered results differ, the one that is an accurate record of what was tallied, verified and declared at the polling station prevails. (Section 39(1D) and (1E))

What counts as the result

• The Commission determines, declares and publishes the results of an election immediately after the close of polling. (Section 39(1))
• For the presidential election, after the votes are counted in the polling stations the Commission tallies and verifies the count and declares the result, and the chairperson declares it within seven days after the election. (Articles 138(3)(c) and 138(10))
• A failure to transmit or publish results in electronic form does not invalidate the result as announced and declared by the presiding and returning officers. (Section 39(1F))
• Results live-streamed as they are announced at polling stations are for public information only and are not the basis for a declaration by the Commission. (Section 39(1G))
• IEBC said on 30 July 2026 that the Supreme Court's decision in the 2017 presidential election petition affirmed that the result recorded in the statutory Form 34A is the primary and final record of results at the polling station. (Article of 30 July 2026)
• The Carter Center's report on the 2022 election says that under the Elections Act the declaration of results is the sole responsibility of IEBC, and that only the polling-station Forms 34A are legally binding, citing the decision in Independent Electoral & Boundaries Commission v Maina Kiai & 5 Others [2017] eKLR. (Report, page 8)

That is why a parallel tally is a check and not a count: the Commission declares the result, and where the electronic and the physical results differ, the one that accurately records what was tallied, verified and declared at the polling station prevails (section 39(1E)).

How a campaign runs one

Steps 1 to 3 rest on the provisions above. Steps 4 to 6 are practice, not law.

1. Put an agent in each polling station you want to cover. The Regulations admit no more than one agent for each candidate or political party at a station (regulation 62(2)). IEBC's notices also require parties and candidates to submit the names of their Chief Election Agents by Tuesday 27 July 2027 (see the election dates guide).
2. The agent watches the count: each ballot is shown, and a ballot's inclusion or rejection can be disputed on the spot (regulation 76).
3. When the result is announced, the agent checks the figures on the form against what was announced, signs it or records why not, and takes the copy the presiding officer must give (regulation 79).
4. The agent sends the figures, and a photo of the form, to the campaign.
5. The campaign adds the station figures up by ward, constituency and county, following the same steps as the forms, and keeps a list of the stations it has not heard from: a total is only as good as the share of stations behind it.
6. The campaign compares its totals with what IEBC publishes: the polling-station forms on its portal for the presidential election, and the forms declared at the constituency, county and national tallying centres.

What the public portal showed in 2022

• Less than 24 hours after the polls closed, scans of 97.71 percent of the polling-station results forms had been posted on the public portal (as of 2:40 p.m. on 10 August 2022), and by 12 August more than 99 percent of the Forms 34A had been received. (Report, pages 2 and 8)
• The portal posted scans of the forms, not the figures in them. The Carter Center said the verification process could have been strengthened by posting the numeric tallies on the portal, which would let the media and interested parties check the tabulated results. (Report, page 10)

The same report notes that the portal went live only days before the election (page 10). Section 39(1C)(c) of the Elections Act requires the Commission to publish the polling result forms on an online public portal for a presidential election.

If your figures differ

Check the form first: a difference may be a figure keyed wrongly. On the day, the Regulations let an agent dispute a ballot (regulation 76(4)) and record why they did not sign (regulation 79(3)). After a declaration, the law sets short time limits for a petition:

• A petition to question the validity of an election, other than a presidential election, must be filed within twenty-eight days after the declaration of the results and served within fifteen days of presentation. (Section 76(1)(a))
• A petition to challenge the election of the President-elect is filed in the Supreme Court within seven days after the declaration of the results of the presidential election. (Article 140(1))

These limits are short, so take legal advice early. This guide is not legal advice.

What may change before August 2027

The Constitution, the Act and the Regulations above are the versions on Kenya Law, consolidated to 31 December 2022, which Kenya Law marked as the latest when we read them on 27 October 2026. IEBC has proposed changes:

• IEBC says it has submitted the Elections Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026 to Parliament, and that it has also drafted amendments to the Elections (General), Voter Registration, Voter Education, Party List and Party Primaries, and Technology Regulations. (Paragraphs 37 to 39)
• On 30 July 2026 IEBC said the Bill does not propose to amend section 44 of the Elections Act, would add a complementary way to transmit results where there is no network coverage, and does not seek to scrap live streaming of results. IEBC said results would be checked by comparing the original paper Form 34A with the electronically transmitted image. (Article of 30 July 2026)

Check kenyalaw.org for amendments made after these were read.

Is Groundwork's parallel tally official?

No. Only the IEBC declares results. Groundwork records the forms your agents observe and shows you where you stand, how much of the register you've covered, and where the forms disagree.

How Groundwork handles election night is on the election night page.

More guides

• 2027 election dates: Every date IEBC has gazetted for the general election of 10 August 2027, seat by seat, with the notice each one comes from.
• 2027 campaign spending limits: What a candidate for each seat may spend, county by county, constituency by constituency and ward by ward, from IEBC's Gazette Notice 12251.

Sources

1. Elections (General) Regulations, 2012 (Kenya Law, consolidated to 31 December 2022)
2. Elections Act, 2011 (Kenya Law, consolidated to 31 December 2022)
3. Constitution of Kenya, Articles 138 and 140 (Kenya Law)
4. The Carter Center: Kenya 2022 general elections, preliminary report · 8 September 2022
5. IEBC press release: Status of election preparedness · 20 August 2026
6. Kenyans.co.ke: IEBC clarifies election law changes amid claims of a 2027 results livestreaming ban · 30 July 2026