- The National Assembly passed the Elections Amendment Bill 2024 on Thursday, October 22, removing the legal requirement for IEBC to livestream polling station results
- Deputy Speaker Gladys Boss Shollei defended the move, arguing that courts could order a recount of ballots if any dispute arose over results
- The bill, originally passed by the Senate, also introduced clauses on the recall of Members of Parliament convicted of offences
Search option is now available at TUKO! Feel free to search the content on topics/people you enjoy reading about in the top right corner ;)
The National Assembly has passed the Elections Amendment Bill 2024, stripping away the legal obligation on the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to livestream election results from polling stations, a move that raises fresh questions about how the 2027 general election will be monitored.
Source: Facebook
The bill cleared the House on Thursday, October 22, after the Senate had approved it late last year and forwarded it to the National Assembly for concurrence. The committee tabled its report the same day, opening debate before members voted on several amendments at the Committee of the Whole House stage.
What the bill changes
The legislation amended Clause 22, which had sought to replace Section 39 of the Elections Act, by deleting it entirely. Under the revised framework, the IEBC will still be required to determine, declare, and publish results immediately after polling closes, and results announced at the polling station will be considered final.
Deputy Speaker Gladys Boss Shollei, who also serves as the Uasin Gishu Women Representative, dismissed concerns about the impact on electoral transparency. She argued that the existing legal framework already provides a sufficient remedy.
"If there is a query, the ballot box will be brought back. And that's why last time the Supreme Court, when they decided they want to recount the votes, the one from Tiaty was brought to the Supreme Court, the one from, it was Mombasa, Jicho Pevu's constituency, and so on. So that is how it's done. So there is nothing wrong," Shollei said.
An amendment tabled by Suba South MP Caroli Omondi, which sought to introduce a new clause addressing how presidential results are tallied, verified, and communicated, did not survive the vote. Majority Leader Kimani Ichungw'ah opposed it, warning against altering substantive electoral processes close to an election cycle.
"If we start tinkering with electoral laws, substantive issues of touching on our electoral processes, and also in the transmission of results and all those other things, shenanigans around electoral period, the elections, we stand accused," Ichungw'ah said.
Recall of MPs and other provisions
The bill also includes provisions on the recall of legislators. MPs approved clauses allowing constituents to recall their representatives following a criminal conviction.
Suna East MP Junet Mohamed backed the measure, saying losing the support of a third of voters in every ward should disqualify a lawmaker from continuing in office.
Proceedings were briefly disrupted when Kirinyaga Women Representative Jane Njeri alleged, without presenting evidence, that the IEBC was registering non-Kenyans as voters.
She was ordered by the Speaker to either substantiate her claims or apologise, and she reportedly vowed to produce evidence.
National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang'ula subsequently put the question to the House.
"The ayes have it," he declared after the voice vote, confirming the bill's passage to its third reading.
The removal of the livestreaming requirement marks a reversal of the position Parliament itself took in 2022, when the National Assembly's justice committee rejected an IEBC proposal to end the practice. Former Speaker Justin Muturi had previously described live results as a standard feature of democratic elections.
Source: TUKO.co.ke