Kenya’s National Assembly has approved proposed changes to the country’s electoral laws that would remove the legal requirement for the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to livestream the announcement of election results at polling stations.
The decision, made on Thursday, October 22, has renewed debate over election transparency and public access to results ahead of the 2027 General Election.
The Elections (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill, 2024, also known as Senate Bill No. 29 of 2024, was sponsored by National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah and Minority Leader Junet Mohamed. The legislation seeks to implement recommendations from the National Dialogue Committee (NADCO) and amend several sections of the Elections Act, 2011.
Clause 22 proposes changes to Section 39 of the Act, which governs how election results are determined, transmitted and declared.
Under the proposed amendments, the IEBC would no longer have an explicit legal obligation to establish a system for livestreaming results as polling-station officials announce them.
However, the commission would still be required to transmit results electronically, verify the figures and publish polling-station results forms through a public online portal.
The proposed removal of mandatory livestreaming has raised questions about how voters, political parties, journalists and election observers will monitor the announcement of results in real time. Livestreaming allows the public to follow declarations at polling stations and compare the announced figures with those later submitted to tallying centres.
The Bill also covers other areas of electoral administration, including voter registration, the designation of polling stations, political party nominations and the recall of elected representatives.
On the recall of Members of Parliament, the National Assembly approved an amendment requiring at least one-third of registered voters in every ward within a constituency to support a petition seeking to remove a National Assembly member.
For senators, the same threshold would apply in every constituency within the affected county. A simple majority of voters participating in a recall by-election would determine the winner.
The Bill will now return to the Senate for consideration of the amendments approved by the National Assembly. The proposed changes are not yet final, and their implementation will depend on the completion of the legislative process.