Kesses MP Julius Rutto has defended proposed amendments to Kenya’s election laws, accusing opposition leaders of misleading Kenyans by portraying the changes as a scheme to rig the August 2027 General Election.
Rutto said the Elections (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill, 2024, originated in the Senate and underwent public participation before being considered by the National Assembly, which deleted a controversial clause on presidential election results following court directions.
Speaking on Radio Generation on Tuesday, the lawmaker urged Kenyans to establish the facts before reacting to claims of electoral manipulation, saying the country needed a stronger culture of reading legislation and verifying information.
“What has happened with the culture of Kenyans reading for themselves?” Rutto asked, questioning whether citizens had abandoned libraries in favour of relying on information shared through mobile phones and social media.
He argued that Kenyans should establish the source and authenticity of information before sharing it or reacting to political claims.
“Sometimes we begin before we react unnecessarily to try as much as possible to be a people with a culture of trying to establish information,” he said.
Rutto said the bill was introduced in the Senate in 2024 as part of efforts to address issues arising from previous election disputes and judicial decisions.
He said the legislation covered several areas, including access to the voters’ register, political party primaries and the nomination of candidates for elective positions and party lists.
The MP said the National Assembly deleted Clause 22, which proposed replacing Section 39 of the Elections Act, after a High Court ruling upheld the existing legal framework governing the determination and transmission of election results.
He said the decision preserved the existing provisions, including the requirement for the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to establish a mechanism for livestreaming results announced at polling stations.
The bill will return to the Senate for consideration of the National Assembly’s amendments.
If the two Houses disagree, the matter may proceed to mediation.
Rutto urged senators to retain the changes made by the National Assembly, arguing that Parliament should align electoral legislation with judicial pronouncements.
“I was expecting responsible leaders to speak truth and tell Kenyans this is the direction,” he said, accusing some politicians of using propaganda to advance their political interests.
“The only thing it does is lies, propaganda, for the purpose of me to win against you.”
The MP maintained that the legislative process was still ongoing and called on Kenyans to assess the actual provisions of the bill rather than assume the changes were intended to undermine electoral rights.
The amendments have nevertheless raised concerns among opposition leaders and electoral reform campaigners, who argue that changes to the law governing the transmission and declaration of results could weaken public scrutiny ahead of the 2027 polls.
Democratic Party leader Justin Muturi said his party would oppose any proposal that weakened safeguards for transparent elections.
“The Democratic Party unequivocally opposes any legislative proposal seeking to weaken electoral transparency by removing safeguards for the live transmission of election results,” Muturi said.
He invoked Article 86 of the Constitution, which requires elections to be accurate, verifiable, secure, accountable and transparent, warning that weakening public access to results could undermine confidence in electoral institutions.
The People’s Coalition on Electoral Reforms, led by former Chief Justice David Maraga alongside Muturi and Suba South MP Caroli Omondi, also criticised Parliament’s handling of the amendments.
The coalition wants presidential results declared finally at polling stations, hourly electronic transmission of voter turnout figures, live constituency-level declarations and an open national aggregation system without central servers that could alter results.
It has also called for an end to the national presidential tallying centre and stronger safeguards for election technology and the recruitment of electoral officials.
Maraga said the coalition would introduce its own amendment bill in Parliament, organise a multi-stakeholder conference and conduct nationwide civic education ahead of the election.
President William Ruto, however, has dismissed claims that the government intends to stop livestreaming election results, accusing opposition leaders of spreading misinformation.
“Why would anyone want to stop livestreaming of results? The sooner Kenyans get to know the results of an election, the better for our nation,” Ruto said during a church service at AIC Kasina in Mwingi, Kitui County, on October 25.
The dispute centres on the Elections (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill, 2024, which originated in the Senate as part of electoral reforms linked to the National Dialogue Committee process following the disputed 2022 election.
The Senate passed the bill in December 2024 before it moved to the National Assembly for consideration.
The National Assembly deleted Clause 22 on October 22, 2026, following a High Court ruling delivered on September 22 that upheld the existing provisions of Section 39 of the Elections Act and Regulation 83(2) of the Elections (General) Regulations.
The deletion retained the existing requirement for IEBC to establish a mechanism for livestreaming results announced at polling stations.
The bill now return to the Senate for further consideration.