How Presidential Results Are Declared From Forms 34A To 34D

Form 34A.

This is used to record results from 46,229 polling stations all the way to the National Tallying Centre at Bomas of Kenya in Nairobi. At the polling stations, the presiding officers enter their results in Form 34A.

The County Returning Officers complete and sign the document, which is then submitted to the IEBC portal and accessed at the National polling station in Bomas. The candidate or their representatives/agents must sign and certify that the information on the form is accurate.

The form includes the number of votes cast for each presidential candidate, the total number of registered voters in that station, and the number of rejected, protested, disputed, and valid votes.

It is worth it to note that the results cannot be changed as they are the final results used to tally the final presidential vote.

Form 34B.

This document is used to collate all the numbers from different polling stations and categorize them under the constituency level bracket.

It shows the polling station codes, station name, numbers of registered voters, vote totals for each candidate, and the number of valid votes cast. 

This means that there are 290 Forms 34B representing the number of constituencies, 291 including the diaspora.

The process helps to verify whether what was indicated in Form 34A matches what is in Form 34B.

Form 34C

This is a compilation of all Forms 34B into one document. It is the official document from which Chebukati will announce the results and declare Kenya's fifth president.

The verification process however takes time as one form can take a returning officer anywhere between 20 to 30 minutes. Because there are 291 forms, the process could take between 4 to 6 days.

Form 34D

This captures the final results of the presidential election, which is in form of a certificate, presented to the president-elect.

The commission faces a race against time to ensure that the presidential election winner is announced. By law, the commission has seven days from the day of voting to announce the winner of the poll, which puts the current deadline at Tuesday, August 16.

"Within seven (7) days after the presidential election, the chairperson of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission shall; (a) declare the result of the election; and (b) deliver a written notification of the result to the Chief Justice and the incumbent president," reads Article 138(10) of the Constitution.