President William Ruto has defended the proposed changes to the Elections Act, accusing opposition leaders of trying to use the livestreaming of results to mislead the public, especially Kenyan youth.
Speaking during a church service at AIC Kasina church in Mwingi town, Ruto said the latest Elections Amendment Bill 2024 does not in any way affect the livestreaming of election results.
Ruto reiterated that election results livestreaming is a right for every Kenyan, and the sooner the public knows the results, the better they become aware of how voting is ongoing and what the results are likely to be.
"I have seen propagandists try to create propaganda around election laws that livestreaming has been banned. Nonsense," Ruto said.
Results are a right of Kenyans. The sooner Kenyans get to know the results of our elections, the better for our country," Ruto stated.
IEBC chairperson Erastus Ethekon, flanked by senior police chiefs during a press briefing on election preparedness on July 14, 2026.
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NPS
"Why would anyone want to stop live-streaming of results? It’s a right of Kenyans," the Head of State added.
Days earlier, the National Assembly passed the Elections (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill, 2024, requiring the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to transmit presidential election results electronically within two hours of their declaration at polling stations.
Under the bill, IEBC must provide reasons in a prescribed format if the results are not sent to constituency and national tallying centres, candidates or their agents, and election observers within the stipulated period.
The commission would also be required to publish polling station results forms on its public online portal and verify the figures against the results recorded and declared at each polling station.
The proposed amendments sparked backlash online, with some users threatening to take to the streets to oppose the bill.
In response, Ruto urged fellow leaders to stop mobilising young people to protest, calling on the public to first understand the proposed changes before rejecting them.
The president attributed the concerns around the Bill to the 2024 Finance Bill, which caused havoc in the country, leading to the nationwide youth-led protests before he scrapped the Bill entirely after Parliament's approval.
According to Ruto, the 2024 Finance Bill was not wrong as alleged, but was marred by propaganda from the opposition, whom he has accused of trying to sponsor the same propaganda around the elections, livestreaming months ahead of the 2027 General Elections.
A collage of an IEBC official using the electoral BVR kit at the Ol Kalou by-elections on July 16, 2026.
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Kenyans.co.ke