New Bill proposes to scrap live-streaming of presidential election results

A proposed Bill seeks to amend the elections law, removing the requirement for the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to live-stream presidential results.

The Elections (Amendment) Bill 2024, currently before the Senate, aims to repeal Section 39 of the Elections Act, replacing live-streaming with electronic transmission of results to tallying centres.

"The new section has omitted the provisions providing for the requirement for the IEBC to establish a mechanism for the live-streaming of results as announced at polling stations to facilitate public information," reads the Bill.

Currently, the IEBC is required to live-stream results from the national tallying centre, where the media accesses the data for public broadcast.

The new Bill, however, proposes that results be electronically transmitted within two hours of their announcement at polling stations to constituency and national tallying centres, candidates, agents, and observers.

Returning Officers would be required to provide reasons for delays in a prescribed format if results are not transmitted within the set timeframe.

Additionally, Returning Officers must physically deliver the tabulated results to the constituency and national tallying centres.

This would mean Kenyans would need to access digital images of forms 34A, containing polling station results, from the IEBC portal to gauge the outcome themselves.

The Bill also omits provisions addressing discrepancies between electronically transmitted and physically delivered results and removes a clause stating that failure to transmit results electronically does not invalidate the declared outcome.

Transparency concerns

If enacted, the changes would significantly alter how presidential results are communicated, raising concerns about transparency and public confidence in the electoral process.

Sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Aaron Cheruiyot and Minority Leader Stewart Madzayo, the Bill is a product of the National Dialogue Committee (NADCO), formed to address political tensions following protests after the 2022 presidential election.

The protests erupted after President William Ruto was declared the winner of the August 9 polls.

A similar attempt to scrap the live-streaming requirement was rejected in 2022 by the National Assembly's Justice and Legal Affairs Committee (JLAC), then chaired by Kangema MP Muturi Kigano.

At the time, the IEBC, under Wafula Chebukati, argued that the provision was unnecessary, but the committee insisted it enhanced transparency and accountability in the electoral process.

"Kenyans should be able to compare the live-transmitted results with the final declared results to confirm the accuracy of the election results," the committee said in its report tabled in Parliament.

The panel recast the section, expressly requiring the Wafula Chebukati-led commission to start preparations to ensure Kenyans can follow the results in real-time as they are declared from the polling stations.

“The commission shall establish a mechanism for the live-streaming of final results as announced at polling stations,” the Committee said.

It noted that doing away with live streaming would defeat the purpose of enhancing transparency in the announcement and declaration of presidential election results.

"Live-streaming of election results is one way of conforming to the constitutional principles of transparency and accountability. Citizens should be able to compare the live transmitted results with the final declared results to confirm the accuracy of the election results,” read the Committee's report.