Waziri Mayai Wa Maradhi
Member
- Jan 28, 2026
- 81
- 36
The Nakuru High Court has received a petition requesting that contestants in an election receive more than half of the total votes cast in order to be proclaimed winners.
Laban Omusundi, a Nakuru-based activist, alongside Basele Galgesa, and Benson Olwande filed a petition requesting that candidates for elected offices, including as governor, senator, MP, and MCA, receive 50% of the vote plus one in order to win.
According to them the current system is deeply flawed, allowing candidates to assume powerful public offices - including the authority to make laws, impose taxes, and control billions in public funds - having been endorsed by as little as 22 percent of voters.
They contend that leaders should wield authority with the support of the majority, not only the greatest number of votes in a divided race, and that this amounts to systemic minority rule that directly opposes the desire of the majority of Kenyans who cast ballots.
The petition, dated February 17, 2026, claims that under the current First-Past-the-Post system, candidates may be deemed elected with minority support—in some cases, as low as 22–35 percent of the total votes cast—and that such minority mandates are incompatible with the constitutional principles of democracy, equality, political participation, and accurate reflection of the people's will under Articles 10, 27, 38, and 81.
The petitioners are now requesting that the court make a number of significant rulings. They want it declared that the FPTP system is unconstitutional to the extend as it allows minority rule in elections for the Senate, Parliament, County Assembly, and Governorship.
Additionally, they want the court to rule that the term "elected" must be understood to mean obtaining 50% plus one of all votes cast, and to mandate reruns in any elective seat in which no candidate meets that requirement.
The High Court in Nakuru is scheduled to hear the case on March 23, 2026.
Laban Omusundi, a Nakuru-based activist, alongside Basele Galgesa, and Benson Olwande filed a petition requesting that candidates for elected offices, including as governor, senator, MP, and MCA, receive 50% of the vote plus one in order to win.
According to them the current system is deeply flawed, allowing candidates to assume powerful public offices - including the authority to make laws, impose taxes, and control billions in public funds - having been endorsed by as little as 22 percent of voters.
They contend that leaders should wield authority with the support of the majority, not only the greatest number of votes in a divided race, and that this amounts to systemic minority rule that directly opposes the desire of the majority of Kenyans who cast ballots.
The petition, dated February 17, 2026, claims that under the current First-Past-the-Post system, candidates may be deemed elected with minority support—in some cases, as low as 22–35 percent of the total votes cast—and that such minority mandates are incompatible with the constitutional principles of democracy, equality, political participation, and accurate reflection of the people's will under Articles 10, 27, 38, and 81.
The petitioners are now requesting that the court make a number of significant rulings. They want it declared that the FPTP system is unconstitutional to the extend as it allows minority rule in elections for the Senate, Parliament, County Assembly, and Governorship.
Additionally, they want the court to rule that the term "elected" must be understood to mean obtaining 50% plus one of all votes cast, and to mandate reruns in any elective seat in which no candidate meets that requirement.
The High Court in Nakuru is scheduled to hear the case on March 23, 2026.
