How to File an Election Petition in Kenya: Grounds, Deadlines and Costs
By Our Law Team on September 19, 2026
Election Petitions Run on a Different Clock
An election petition is not an ordinary civil suit. The deadlines are statutory and short, the standard of proof is higher than a balance of probabilities, and a failure to comply with the procedural rules in time can end the petition before it is ever heard on the merits. Anyone considering a challenge to a presidential, parliamentary, county governor or county assembly election should take advice before the results are even declared, so that the pleadings, witnesses and documents are ready to move on day one. Our election disputes lawyers in Nairobi act for candidates, parties and voters in petitions and appeals.
Who Can File
Presidential: a candidate in the election may file in the Supreme Court under Article 140 of the Constitution, and the Supreme Court's determination is final.
Parliamentary and county governor: the Elections Act and the petition rules govern who may present the petition - in practice a candidate, and a voter in the circumstances the law allows - and it is filed in the High Court.
County assembly: petitions are filed in the court designated for the seat, and the same principles on grounds and evidence apply.
Respondents: the electoral commission and the returned candidate. Both must be served properly - a petition that is not served within the rules can be struck out.
The Grounds That Succeed
Non-compliance: failure to comply with the constitutional and statutory provisions on elections, or with the commission's rules - together with proof that the non-compliance affected the result.
Corrupt practices and electoral offences: bribery, undue influence, illegal campaigning, ballot stuffing or tampering with materials.
Commission failures: irregular tallying, refusal to let agents verify results, defective returns, or the use of materials that do not meet the legal requirements.
Disqualification: where the winning candidate was not qualified to stand or breached the electoral code.
The burden is on the petitioner, and the standard of proof is heavier than in an ordinary civil case: the irregularities must be proved, and their effect on the outcome must be shown. Courts are reluctant to void an election for mistakes that could not have changed the result.
Deadlines You Cannot Miss
Presidential: filed within 7 days of the declaration of the result, and determined by the Supreme Court within 14 days of filing.
Parliamentary, county governor and county assembly: filed within 28 days of the declaration of the result.
Determination: petitions must be determined within six months, and the rules discourage adjournments and delay.
Appeals: filed within 30 days of the judgment, and determined within a further statutory period.
Service: the petition must be served on the commission and the respondent within the time and in the manner the rules require.
The clock starts on the date the result is declared - not the date you receive the certified results or the polling station returns - so diarise that date the moment it is announced.
Security for Costs and Formal Requirements
Security for costs: the petitioner must deposit security for the respondent's costs within the time the law sets, failing which the petition is struck out. This is the most common formal trap in Kenyan election litigation.
Particulars and affidavits: the petition must set out the alleged irregularities with particulars, and be supported by an affidavit containing the evidence.
The right court: filing in the wrong court, or naming the wrong respondents, consumes the very limited time available.
Fees and filing: the prescribed filing fees, signed pleadings and the copies needed for service must be in order from the start.
Evidence: What Actually Decides a Petition
The polling station records: the statutory results forms, polling station diaries, voter registers and the returns used to declare the result.
Witness statements: from the petitioner's agents, party officials, presiding officers and voters - filed within the timelines, because late evidence is usually excluded.
Expert evidence: statistical analysis of turnout or results patterns, properly tied back to the forms rather than presented as a free-standing opinion.
Scrutiny and recount: applications to have the votes recounted or the election materials examined, which is often where the decisive numbers come from.
Chain of custody: delay weakens the trail of the materials, so move quickly on preservation.
What the Court Can Order
A declaration that the election is void, and an order for a fresh election in the affected seat.
A declaration that the petitioner was duly elected, in the limited case where the figures show it.
Orders directed at the conduct of a fresh election, and at the commission and its officials.
Costs, which are at the court's discretion.
Costs and Practical Realities
Election litigation is fast and expensive. Budget for advocate's fees, security for costs, filing and service, perusal and copying of polling documents, witness costs and expert evidence. Costs are assessed at the end at the court's discretion, but the upfront outlay is significant - and a petition that is filed and then abandoned can attract an adverse costs order.
Confirm the seat, the correct court and the correct respondents.
Obtain the declaration and the certified results as soon as the commission publishes them.
Collect the polling station forms and diaries as they become available, and keep them safely.
Take full witness statements immediately, and keep your witnesses available.
File within time and deposit security for costs within time.
Apply for scrutiny or a recount at the right stage.
Instruct a lawyer who has run petitions in that particular court.
Election disputes move faster than any other litigation, and the first week usually decides the case. Our election disputes team in Nairobi advises candidates, parties and voters on petitions, appeals, scrutiny and electoral offences. Book a consultation as soon as the results are announced.
