IEBC dismisses claims of plan to stop livestreaming 2027 results

By Newsflash Writer

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has dismissed reports that it intends to stop livestreaming presidential election results during the 2027 General Election, terming the claims misleading and based on a misrepresentation of the proposed Election Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026.

Public concern emerged after the Bill, currently under consideration by the Senate Justice and Legal Affairs Committee, sparked media reports suggesting that the electoral agency was seeking to ban livestreaming of presidential results and revert to a manual voting and results transmission system similar to that used during the disputed 2007 General Election.

The reports triggered anxiety among Kenyans, with many questioning whether the electoral commission was scaling back transparency measures that have become a key feature of recent elections.

Traditionally, the IEBC has livestreamed the presidential tallying process from the National Tallying Centre, usually located at the Bomas of Kenya, enabling Kenyans and other stakeholders to follow the verification and announcement of results in real time.

However, in a press statement issued on Thursday, IEBC Chairperson Erastus Ethekon clarified that the proposed legislation contains no provision seeking to abolish livestreaming or electronic transmission of election results.

Bill misunderstood, says IEBC

According to the commission, media reports claiming the Bill proposes to scrap livestreaming, ban live broadcast of poll results or return Kenya to a manual electoral system are inaccurate.

“The media reports are erroneous and a misrepresentation of the Bill as tabled before Parliament,” the commission said.

The IEBC explained that the proposed amendments do not alter Section 44 of the Elections Act, which provides for the deployment of the Integrated Elections Management System (KIEMS) for voter registration, voter identification and electronic transmission of results.

Instead, the Bill proposes a complementary mechanism to cater for polling stations where electronic transmission may not be possible because of inadequate 3G network coverage.

The commission further stated that the proposed changes seek to align the Elections Act with the Supreme Court’s 2017 presidential election judgment, which affirmed that the legally binding election result is the one recorded in the statutory Form 34A at the polling station.

Under the proposals, the IEBC will continue electronically transmitting images of the statutory result declaration forms completed by presiding officers and witnessed by party agents. The forms will also remain accessible to the public through the commission’s online results portal as provided under the Elections Act.

Focus on transparency

The commission said presiding officers will continue announcing results openly at polling stations in the presence of political party agents, election observers and the media before submitting the statutory forms to constituency returning officers.

Returning officers will then collate the results into Form 34B before forwarding both the original Form 34As and Form 34Bs to the National Returning Officer at the National Tallying Centre for verification, tallying and declaration of the final presidential results by the IEBC chairperson.

The commission also noted that part of the proposed amendments seeks to remove provisions of the Elections Act that were declared unconstitutional by the High Court in the Katiba Institute & 3 Others v Attorney General & 2 Others case, thereby aligning the law with existing court decisions and closing legislative gaps in election management and dispute resolution.

Ethekon reaffirmed the commission’s commitment to conducting credible, transparent and verifiable elections.

“The IEBC remains committed to preserving the integrity, credibility and transparency of the electoral process and ensuring that every election faithfully reflects the sovereign will of the people,” he said.