Former Chief Justice David Maraga has warned against changes to Kenya’s election laws that would remove the legal requirement for livestreaming election results, saying he will work with electoral reform groups to resist the move.
Maraga spoke after the National Assembly passed the Elections (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill, 2024, on Thursday, October 22, 2026.
The Bill removes the express legal requirement for the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to livestream results as they are announced at polling stations.
In a statement, Maraga said the Constitution requires elections to be accurate, verifiable, secure, accountable and transparent.
“No law is superior than our Katiba,” he said, adding that he would work with the People’s Coalition for Electoral Reforms to oppose the proposed changes.
Maraga warned against a return to the era of the former Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK), linking his concerns to the violence that followed the disputed 2007 presidential election.
“I will work with the People’s Coalition for Electoral Reforms to thwart any efforts to return us to the dark era of ECK or the post election violence of 2007/08,” he said.
His remarks came as former National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi also condemned the proposed changes, describing them as a threat to electoral transparency.
In a statement issued on behalf of the Democratic Party, Muturi said the party would oppose any legislative proposal that weakens safeguards for the public transmission of election results.
“The Democratic Party unequivocally opposes any legislative proposal seeking to weaken electoral transparency by removing safeguards for the live transmission of election results,” he said.
Muturi argued that Article 86 of the Constitution requires an electoral system that is accurate, verifiable, secure, accountable and transparent.
He warned that removing the legal requirement could limit public scrutiny, create an information vacuum and weaken confidence in electoral institutions ahead of the 2027 General Election.
“Our position is unequivocal: no information blackout, no weakening of constitutional protections, and no legislation that compromises Kenyans’ right to scrutinise their elections,” Muturi said.
What the Bill Changes
The amendment seeks to repeal and replace Section 39 of the Elections Act, which governs the transmission, determination and declaration of election results.
While the Bill removes the express requirement for the IEBC to livestream results announced at polling stations, it retains provisions for electronic transmission of presidential results and publication of polling-station results forms on the commission’s public online portal.
The proposed changes have sparked debate over whether the remaining safeguards will provide sufficient public access to election results and allow Kenyans to compare figures announced at polling stations with those declared at tallying centres.
The IEBC has previously said the Bill does not abolish electronic transmission of results. The commission has argued that the proposed changes are intended to address challenges affecting the transmission and verification of results, including network limitations.
Debate Ahead of 2027 Polls
The debate comes as political leaders and electoral reform advocates focus on safeguards for the next General Election, scheduled for August 2027.
Livestreaming became a key feature of Kenya’s electoral process following reforms introduced after the disputed 2007 election and subsequent violence, which left more than 1,000 people dead and displaced hundreds of thousands.
In 2018, the High Court ruled unconstitutional provisions that restricted the use of livestreamed results to public information only, rather than allowing them to contribute to the declaration process. The ruling reinforced concerns about the relationship between public access to results and electoral accountability.
The Bill now awaits presidential assent following its passage by Parliament. Its implementation will determine how the IEBC is legally required to make election results accessible to the public during future polls.