Democratic Party leader Justin Muturi addressing faithfuls at ACK Mukuria Hungu in Murang'a town on August 16, 2026/ ALICE WAITHERADemocratic Party leader Justin Muturi has called on the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to ensure the technology it procures for the 2027 General Election is transparent, independently verifiable and accessible to Kenyan courts.
Muturi warned that Kenya risks repeating the challenges witnessed during the 2022 presidential election petition if election technology providers are allowed to invoke intellectual property rights to restrict access to critical electoral data and systems.
He argued that every voter should be able to trace their vote from the polling station to the final tally, saying the electoral system must provide sufficient evidence to resolve disputes whenever they arise.
“We want the rights of every voter to be protected. Conduct a transparent and verifiable process,” Muturi said at ACK Mukuria Hungu in Murang’a town.
His remarks come after the IEBC advertised a tender for a new provider of election technology, with concerns emerging over provisions that assign intellectual property rights to the technology provider.
Muturi said such provisions could undermine the ability of Kenyan courts and other authorised institutions to access the systems and evidence required to verify an election.
“You cannot have a situation where a foreign company has the data of all Kenyans and, when asked to open the system, says no. That kind of contract we cannot accept,” he said.
The former Attorney-General said the concerns were informed by the experience of the 2022 presidential election petition, when Smartmatic, the company involved in providing election technology, raised intellectual property and security concerns over access to election servers and related material.
The Supreme Court had ordered scrutiny of the electoral system following the presidential election petition, bringing into sharp focus the question of how proprietary technology should be handled when the integrity of an election is challenged.
Muturi said the lesson from the 2022 experience should be reflected in the current procurement process rather than waiting for another electoral dispute to expose similar weaknesses.
Members of ACK Mukuria Hungu church in Murang'a town during a service on August 16, 2026/ ALICE WAITHERAHe wants the IEBC to issue an addendum to the tender, requiring any successful technology provider to guarantee lawful access to servers, system logs, audit trails, user-access records and other technical evidence necessary for independent verification.
“Whatever technology is used must be available to the Kenyan courts,” he said.
Muturi also linked the debate to recommendations by the National Dialogue Committee (NADCO), which proposed reforms aimed at strengthening electoral justice and public confidence in the management of elections.
He said it would be contradictory for the country to undertake electoral reforms after the 2022 election dispute, only to procure technology that could create another barrier to independent scrutiny.
According to Muturi, legitimate intellectual property rights should be protected, but they should not prevent Kenyan institutions from accessing evidence required to determine whether an election was conducted properly.
He further questioned the involvement of foreign firms in critical aspects of the electoral process, including the printing of ballot papers, citing concerns over tax compliance by a Greek company involved in the process.
“We cannot have that kind of company handling our elections,” he said.
Muturi said the credibility of the 2027 election would depend not only on the conduct of polling but also on whether the systems used to transmit, store and tally votes could withstand independent scrutiny.
He also condemned attempts to restrict citizens' democratic freedoms, arguing that Kenyans should be allowed to assemble, petition, protest and express their political views within the law.
“You can disagree with me, but I should fight for your right to disagree with me,” he said.
With the next General Election scheduled for August 10, 2027, Muturi urged the IEBC to address the concerns before the procurement process advances, saying electoral technology should serve the interests of voters rather than those of private vendors.
He said Kenyans who cast their ballots should have confidence that the vote counted at the polling station is the same vote reflected in the final results.
“We want an election that is credible, free, fair and verifiable,” Muturi said.
