In 2027 and future elections, IEBC may not be required to live-stream presidential results should the Elections (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill, 2024 be passed as proposed.
In the Bill tabled in the Senate by Majority Leader Aaron Cheruiyot and his minority counterpart Stewart Madzayo, there are proposals are made to amend Section 39 of the current Elections Act which required IEBC to livestream the results as announced in the polling stations.
What the Election Act Says
As stipulated under Section 39 of the Elections Act, IEBC is required to livestream results for public information purposes.
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"The Commission shall, to facilitate public information, establish a mechanism for the live-streaming of results as announced at polling stations, and the results so streamed shall be for purposes of public information only and shall not be the basis for a declaration by the Commission," reads the Act in part.
What the Elections (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill, 2024 proposes
The new proposal seeks to repeal and replace section 39 of the Act. Under the new proposal, the requirement for live streaming is committed.
"The new section proposes that results at the polling station shall be final, and the presidential election shall be tallied, announced and declared and electronically transmitted before all other elective positions," read the Bill in part.
"Further, the new section has omitted provisions providing for the requirement for IEBC to establish a mechanism for the live streaming of results as announced at polling stations to facilitate public information,"
Other Proposals in Election Results
The amendment of section 39 also omits the subsection that outlines what happens when there are discrepancies between the electronically transmitted results and those announced at the polling station.
"Further, the new section has omitted provisions providing for - where there is a discrepancy between the electronically transmitted and the physically delivered results the result which is an accurate record of the results tallied, verified and declared at the respective polling station shall prevail," the Bill read in part.
"Any failure to transmit or publish the election results in an electronic format shall not invalidate the result as announced and declared."
Meanwhile, the Bill required election officials to electronically transmit presidential results within two hours of the declaration of the results at the polling station and the constituency tallying centres.
Stage of the Bill in the Senate: The Bill is currently before the committee of the whole house with Senators expected to make various amendments to the proposals.
