As Kenya prepares for the 2027 General Election, a proposed change to the country’s election laws could affect how citizens follow the announcement of election results.
The Elections (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill, 2024, which has been approved by the Senate and is before the National Assembly for consideration and concurrence, seeks to remove the legal requirement for the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to livestream election results as they are announced at polling stations.
The proposal seeks to replace Section 39 of the Elections Act, which governs the determination, transmission and declaration of election results. The current legal framework provides for livestreaming to facilitate public access to results announcements.
If the proposed amendment becomes law, the IEBC would no longer be expressly required to livestream these announcements. This does not mean electronic transmission of election results would be abolished altogether.
Under the proposed changes, the commission would still be required to electronically transmit presidential election results and publish polling station results forms on an online public portal.
Livestreaming matter because it allows all interested parties to follow results as they are announced at polling stations and compare the figures with those subsequently presented at tallying centres. Removing the legal requirement would mean the public could no longer rely on the law to guarantee that this particular transparency mechanism is provided.
The proposal also comes against the background of a 2018 High Court ruling that invalidated provisions restricting the legal significance of livestreamed results. The court found that treating the streamed results as information for the public only undermined their role in ensuring transparency and accountability in the electoral process.
The proposed amendment does not simply revise that provision but rather seeks to remove the express livestreaming requirement from the replacement section altogether.
The Bill’s progress through Parliament will determine whether the proposal becomes law or is amended before enactment. Until then, the proposed change should not be confused with an existing ban on livestreaming.
With the next General Election approaching, the question on whether livestreaming should remain a legal requirement, or if the law should rely on electronic transmission, verification and online publication to provide transparency becomes very important.
For now, the proposal remains a matter for Parliament to consider.
Sources: Daily Nation | People Daily | The Elections (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill, 2024
