The battle over the electoral commission’s tender for ballot papers and other 2027 election materials is facing fresh legal challenges after one of the bidders challenged a procurement board decision that struck out its complaint.
The bidder, Jango Tek-O Concept Limited, wants the court to quash the October 2 ruling and overturn a Sh2 million costs order. It also seeks to stop the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) from proceeding with the tender while its judicial review case is determined.
The case comes a week after the National Reconstruction Alliance Party, a political party associated with Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah, sued, contesting changes to the procurement requirements.
The tender covers ballot papers, tactile folders, the Register of Voters and statutory election-result declaration forms for the 2027 General Election.
The commission advertised the contract on August 11, with bids initially due on September 1, according to the Public Procurement Administrative Review Board’s decision.
Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
Jango Tek-O challenged changes made to the tender after it was published, arguing that they significantly changed the original requirements in breach of Section 75(1) of the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act.
The company said the changes affected financial evaluation, joint-venture eligibility, data-protection registration, disaster recovery and business continuity requirements, ballot-paper security specifications, performance security, delivery obligations and contractual risk.
It argued that the amendments should be considered together because they changed the rules governing participation, evaluation and contract duties.
It also said the changes went beyond an earlier board decision, which required the IEBC to clarify inconsistent provisions on acceptable tender security.
The IEBC opposed the complaint, saying the addendum addressed gaps, removed ambiguity and refined requirements for the existing procurement.
Its lawyers said the amendments followed the board’s September 3 decision, questions from prospective bidders and the commission’s operational and technical assessment.
The board struck out the complaint after finding that Jango Tek-O had not pleaded that it had suffered, or risked suffering, loss or damage because of an alleged breach of procurement law.
Section 167(1) allows a candidate or tenderer to seek review if it claims to have suffered, or risk suffering, loss or damage due to a procuring entity’s breach of the law. The board said this was a condition for its authority to hear the dispute and that participation in a tender alone was insufficient.
“The applicant has failed to satisfy the threshold requirement under section 167(1) of the Act,” the board ruled. It said the company therefore lacked standing to seek administrative review and was “divested of jurisdiction to consider the substantive grievances”. The board did not examine the allegations about the tender addendum.
On costs, the board ordered the company to pay the IEBC and its accounting officer Sh2 million after striking out its complaint.
In the High Court, Jango Tek-O seeks orders to quash the board’s decision and to return its complaint to the board for determination on its merits.
It has also applied for an order suspending the board’s decision on costs and restraining further tender steps such as evaluation, award and contract execution.
The tender has faced separate court challenges after another interested bidder, Oilmax Ventures Limited, challenged the experience and financial-capacity criteria.
Its case was later closed after it failed to file its substantive application within the three-day deadline set by the court, causing the interim orders suspending implementation of the procurement board’s decision to lapse.
The National Reconstruction Alliance Party, led by Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah, separately moved to court to challenge changes to ballot-paper security requirements introduced through the tender addendum, dated September 17, 2026.
The party argues that the revised specifications replace multi-coloured serial numbers with single-colour black numbers, variable guilloche security patterns and micro-text with static designs, and metallic foil stamping with blind embossing without foil.
It wants the changes reviewed and quashed, arguing that the IEBC has not demonstrated that the revised features provide security protection equivalent to or better than the original requirements. Watermarks, ultraviolet security elements and anti-duplication QR codes remain mandatory under the revised specifications, according to published reports.
