The Lower Eastern Times Opening The Third Eye
Kenya’s National Assembly has approved changes to electoral laws that remove the mandatory livestreaming of election results by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), setting the stage for changes in how results will be handled during the 2027 General Election.
The MPs passed the Elections (Amendment) Bill on Thursday, October 22, 2026, following its earlier approval by the Senate.
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Clause 22 of the Bill removes Section 39 of the Elections Act, which outlines the procedures for determining, transmitting and declaring election results.
Under the revised framework, the IEBC will still be required to determine, declare and publish election results immediately after the close of polling. Results announced at individual polling stations will also continue to be treated as final.
However, the commission will no longer be legally required to livestream the announcement of results. Media houses and election observers will remain free to broadcast the results through their own platforms.
The decision reverses Parliament’s position in 2022, when the National Assembly’s Justice Committee rejected a similar proposal by the IEBC to abolish the mandatory livestreaming requirement.
Deputy Speaker Gladys Boss dismissed concerns that the change could compromise electoral transparency, arguing that existing legal safeguards provide avenues for addressing disputes over declared results.
“If there is a query, the ballot box will be brought back,” Boss said.
She pointed to previous election disputes, including cases involving Tiaty and a constituency in Mombasa, where ballot boxes were presented for scrutiny, arguing that the process allows contested results to be verified.
Boss maintained that the availability of ballot boxes for recounts and verification would ensure that electoral disputes could still be addressed even without compulsory livestreaming.
During the parliamentary debate, lawmakers also rejected a separate proposal by Suba South MP Caroli Omondi seeking to amend procedures governing the tallying, verification and communication of presidential election results.
National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah opposed the proposal, cautioning MPs against making significant changes to electoral procedures so close to the 2027 General Election.
“If we start tinkering with electoral laws, substantive issues of touching on our electoral processes, and also in the transmission of results and all those other things, shenanigans around the electoral period, the elections, we stand accused,” Ichung’wah said.
The legislative changes come amid ongoing discussions about electoral reforms and the management of election results ahead of the 2027 polls. The IEBC has previously maintained that proposed amendments to election laws were intended to improve the transmission of results rather than undermine transparency.
