The Kasipul by-election has triggered a new wave of concern after questions were raised about how the results were handled by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission.
Many people who followed the process closely felt that something was off, especially when candidate Philip Aroko publicly rejected the final outcome. He argued that the officials declared the winner without opening the ballot boxes for a physical count, which he believes is the only way to confirm the real numbers.
His worry is that the commission relied entirely on digital results transmitted from polling stations, a decision he says weakened the trust of the voters and left room for doubt about the true outcome.
The by-election had attracted a lot of attention from residents, political observers and supporters from different sides who hoped to see a clean and transparent process. However, once the final announcement was made, the mood quickly shifted. People were surprised to hear claims that no manual verification was done. Considering Kenya’s long record of election disputes, many expected the commission to take extra caution.
Manual counting has always been seen as an important safeguard, especially in areas where people remain sensitive about tallying accuracy.Aroko’s rejection of the results has now opened a wider conversation about the weaknesses that still exist in election management.
Critics say that depending only on electronic submissions can be risky, more so when there are no strong auditing systems to back them up. They point out that errors can happen during transmission, and without checking the paper ballots, it becomes hard to prove whether the final tally truly reflects the choices made by voters.
For them, a credible election requires both the digital and physical sides to be aligned.Civil society groups have also added their voice to the debate. Several organisations and reform activists want a complete and transparent breakdown of the entire tallying process.
They are calling for access to audit logs, verification records and a clear comparison between the digital reports and the actual votes in the ballot boxes. To them, these steps are necessary to restore public trust and give clarity to a process that many now see as questionable.
Opposition leaders are making similar demands, insisting that the commission should explain how the final figures were confirmed before announcing a winner. Some leaders believe that the issues raised in Kasipul reflect bigger structural problems within the electoral system. They argue that reforms are long overdue and that polling-station procedures should be tightened to prevent future arguments over tallying.
There is now growing pressure for the election rules to be updated so that physical counting becomes a mandatory part of every election. Many Kenyans feel that without this safeguard, the country will continue facing disputes that could be avoided. The Kasipul by-election has once again shown that trust in the electoral process remains fragile.
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