A fresh proposal supported by President William Ruto and opposition leader Raila Odinga could soon see a major shift in how presidential results are announced in Kenya, potentially ending the long-standing tradition where only the IEBC chairperson holds that responsibility.
Speaking on Citizen TV’s breakfast show, Nyamira Senator Okong’o Omogeni revealed that a legislative proposal to decentralize the announcement of presidential results is already before the Senate.
The proposal is among several electoral reforms recommended in the National Dialogue Committee (NADCO) report.
“We want to move away from the current setup where only the IEBC chair can declare presidential results,” Omogeni said. “The plan is to allow all 290 returning officers to declare the results at the constituency level.”As the senator described it, the plan is to increase transparency and reduce the kind of high-stakes drama that has come to surround presidential polls.
By dispersing the responsibility, the hope is to make the process more credible and less prone to legal and political challenges
Omogeni also explained that the proposal prioritizes the announcement of presidential results over other elective seats.
Under the new model, returning officers would first count, tabulate, and declare presidential outcomes before dealing with the other five elections held on the same day.
“The presidential ballot would be the first to be counted,” he said. “That way, we can have results announced early in the day just like in the United States, where projections come in within hours.”He said the intention is to announce the presidential results early at 11am on election day, so that to allow for faster communication and reduce the anxiety normally caused by the delays.
"Let's get the fundamentals right first before we even set eyes on technology, if the polling station is openly run, then the rest just sort itself out," he argued.He also floated the idea of bringing in international auditors to independently verify results in real time a concept inspired by South Africa’s recent approach.
“There, the electoral commission hired an international audit firm to validate the results. It's something the IEBC may consider, but ultimately that is their decision," according to him.The bill comes at a time when there have been calls for electoral reform, especially after disputed elections and court battles in the past. If passed, the proposed reforms could be one of the largest changes in election administration in Kenya’s recent history
