Election Observation Group (ELOG) National Coordinator Mule Musau has clarified that the National Assembly did not remove the legal requirement for live streaming of election results when it amended the Elections (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill, 2024.
Speaking during Radio Generation’s Power File show on Monday, Musau said MPs expunged a controversial clause that proposed replacing Section 39 of the Elections Act, retaining the existing provision requiring the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to establish a mechanism for live streaming results announced at polling stations.
“The truth is that Parliament has not removed the live streaming opportunity from our laws. It was a proposal which came from the Senate through a bill, the amendment Bill number 29 of 2024,” Musau said.
The controversy emerged after the Senate-sponsored bill proposed changes to Section 39, which governs the determination, transmission and declaration of election results. The proposed changes under Clause 22 did not explicitly retain the existing requirement for IEBC to establish a mechanism to live-stream results as they are announced at polling stations, raising transparency concerns ahead of the 2027 General Election.
The National Assembly passed the Bill with amendments on October 22, 2026, after considering the proposed changes and public concerns. Rather than proceed with Clause 22, which sought to repeal and replace Section 39, MPs deleted the clause, leaving the existing provision in place.
Musau said the decision followed a court intervention that addressed the constitutionality of the existing electoral provisions and gave Parliament directions to consider during its deliberations.
According to Musau, petitioners went to court on September 22, seeking, among other reliefs, a declaration that Section 39 is unconstitutional. The court upheld the constitutionality of the section, which deals with the collation, tallying, and counting of election results.
“Among some of the prayers that they were actually seeking was to have the entirety of Section 39, the one that does talk about the process of the collation, the tallying, the counting of election results, to be declared unconstitutional. But the court made a ruling that affirmed the constitutionality of that particular section,” he said.
Musau maintained that the court’s directions were subsequently considered during parliamentary debate, alongside concerns raised by members of the public.
“When they made their final brief, they said they did consider the issues which have been raised by the public, but they also did consider the direction that had been given by the court as far as that matter is concerned, and therefore they decided to expunge clause 22.”
The National Assembly and the government have maintained that deleting the clause preserved the requirement under Section 39(1G) for IEBC to establish a live-streaming mechanism. However, the Bill must return to the Senate to consider the National Assembly’s amendments, meaning the legislative process is not yet complete.
The proposed changes triggered public debate over whether removing the express live-streaming requirement from the replacement provision would weaken public access to election proceedings.
Live streaming allows members of the public, journalists, political parties and election observers to watch results being announced at polling stations in real time. It differs from the electronic transmission of results to tallying centres and the publication of results forms online.
Musau said public concerns reflected wider questions about confidence in the country’s electoral processes and the need for transparency in the management of elections.
He maintained that the legal position should be understood from the provision Parliament ultimately retained, rather than the wording of the original proposal.
“As things stand right now, the Bill was passed with amendments by the National Assembly, and they have not affected anything to the live stream. So that live streaming opportunity and the requirement that IEBC is required to come up with a mechanism of ensuring that is done is retained in our laws,” he explained.
President William Ruto has also rejected claims that the government intends to stop the live streaming of election results, describing the allegations as propaganda.
Speaking during a church service at AIC Kasina in Mwingi, Kitui County, on Sunday, October 25, Ruto questioned why anyone would want to prevent Kenyans from accessing election results promptly.
“Why would anybody want to stop live streaming of results? Results are a right of Kenyans. The sooner Kenyans get to know the results, the better for our nation,” he said.
The Head of State accused opposition leaders of misleading young people over the proposed electoral amendments and urged them to focus on issues affecting the youth.