IEBC Dismisses Reports of Banning Live Streaming of Results in 2027 General Election

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has dismissed claims of a plan to ban the livestreaming of the 2027 Election results. 

Speaking on Thursday, July 30, IEBC Chairperson Erastus Ethekon clarified that the Commission had no intention whatsoever of blocking the media from publishing results as they stream in.

He stated that the claims were misleading and that the electoral body did not condone any attempts to interfere with the delivery of a free, fair and transparent election. 

Ethekon added that IEBC had not pushed for any legislation on the streaming of the election results to be changed in either House of Parliament; the Senate, or the National Assembly.

"As IEBC, we want to state categorically that we have not made any such decision, nor have we made any proposals to Parliament to try and stop live streaming.

"This Commission stands for transparency and accountability. We will be the last people to make any decision or any proposals to stifle the freedom of the media to check what we are doing, including livestreaming of the election process," he stated.

The IEBC Chair added that the Commission had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the media, in which they agreed that the Fourth Estate would play an integral role in ensuring that the election is transparent.

"If anything, we converged with the Kenya Media Sector Working Group, and we signed an MoU that allows us to collaborate with the media for it to scrutinise and work with us to ensure that we educate Kenyans on all the processes that we are undertaking as a Commission, including the livestreaming process," he added.

His clarification came after reports circulated that Senate Majority Leader Aaron Cheruiyot and Minority Leader Stewart Madzayo had jointly sponsored the Elections Laws Amendment Bill 2026, which seeks to remove the legal requirement that compels IEBC to livestream election results from polling stations.

Reacting to the report, Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale stated that the proposed Bill was 'Dead on arrival.' 

Earlier, the IEBC held a National Stakeholder Engagement forum in Nairobi on the draft Election Campaign Financing Regulations, 2026 and proposed Contributions and Spending limits. 

The forum was themed: "Campaign Finance regulation in Kenya: a Constitutional framework for transparency, political equality, accountability and electoral integrity".

Ethekon said that the forum is in the final stages of public participation on the Draft Election Campaign Financing Regulations, 2026 and the proposed Contribution and Spending Limits. 

"Article 88(4)(i) of the Constitution bestows on the Commission the mandate to regulate the amount of money that may be spent by or on behalf of a candidate or political party in respect of any election. This is a mandate that the Commission has taken seriously since the enactment of the Election Campaign Financing Act in 2013," IEBC noted.