Safina Party Deputy Leader Willis Otieno has voiced strong opposition to a proposed amendment to the Election Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026, which seeks to eliminate the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission’s (IEBC) obligation to livestream election results from polling stations during the 2027 General Election.

The bill, currently under review by the Senate’s Justice and Legal Affairs Committee, aims to repeal Section 39(1G) of the Elections Act. This section mandates the IEBC to provide a live broadcast of results as they are announced at polling stations, a transparency measure introduced after the 2007 post-election crisis and reinforced by the 2010 Constitution to build public trust in electoral outcomes.

Concerns Over Transparency

In a statement released on July 30, 2026, Otieno warned that removing this livestreaming requirement would deprive Kenyans of the critical opportunity to independently verify election results in real time. He argued that without this mechanism, the public would be forced to wait passively for official tallies, undermining transparency.

"A new Bill seeks to stop the IEBC from livestreaming election results from polling stations. That means the first point of public verification is gone. The people will be told to wait quietly for the final tally and simply accept it," Otieno said. He questioned the motivation behind the proposed change, asking, "Why fear transparency unless you intend to benefit from opacity?"

Details of the Proposed Changes

  • Polling station and constituency results would still be electronically transmitted to the national tallying centre but would no longer be publicly livestreamed.
  • The public would have to rely on official IEBC announcements or manually access Forms 34A from the results portal.
  • The live feed, previously used by media, observers, and political parties for real-time monitoring, would be discontinued.

Constitutional lawyer Bobby Mkangi also criticised the bill, highlighting that livestreaming fulfills constitutional requirements for credible and transparent elections. He warned that removing this safeguard would roll back important reforms introduced under the 2010 Constitution.

Additional Electoral Law Amendments

Beyond the livestreaming issue, the bill proposes several other significant changes:

  • Modifying the verification language of electronically transmitted results from an "accurate record" to an "accurate reflection" of tallied results.
  • Repealing provisions addressing discrepancies between electronic results and physical forms.
  • Mandating the IEBC to await results from all 290 constituencies before declaring a presidential winner, replacing the current provision allowing early declaration if outstanding results cannot change the outcome.
  • Transferring candidate nomination powers from political parties to the IEBC.
  • Lowering the threshold to recall Members of Parliament to 30% of registered voters.
  • Requiring the IEBC to provide forensic images of its servers upon court order under confidential conditions.

Next Steps and Wider Debate

The bill is co-sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Aaron Cheruiyot and Senate Minority Leader Stewart Madzayo. Following committee review, it will proceed to the full Senate and then the National Assembly before potentially being signed into law by the President.

The proposed amendments have sparked renewed debate on electoral transparency ahead of the 2027 elections. While proponents argue the reforms emphasize statutory verification over public broadcasting, critics like Otieno caution that removing real-time access diminishes public scrutiny and confidence in Kenya’s democratic process.