Lawyer in court over Bill seeking to stop livestreaming of election results
High Court
A city lawyer has moved to the High Court seeking to stop Parliament from presenting a Bill that seeks to scrap the live-streaming of election results to the President for assent, arguing that the proposed changes threaten transparency and accountability in Kenya’s electoral process ahead of the 2027 General Election.
John Muremi Njomo, filed the petition against the Attorney General, the National Assembly and the Senate, with the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) listed as an interested party.
He wanted a conservatory order restraining the National Assembly and Senate, their Speakers, Clerks or anyone acting under their authority from presenting the Bill to the President for assent in any form that retains Clause 22 or otherwise removes the live-streaming requirement.
Njomo challenged Clause 22 of the Elections (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill, 2024, which seeks to repeal and replace Section 39 of the Elections Act by removing the statutory requirement for the IEBC to establish a mechanism for live-streaming results announced at polling stations.
In the petition, the lawyer argued that removing the requirement would weaken the public’s ability to independently verify election results by comparing figures announced at polling stations with those subsequently collated and declared.
He maintained that live-streaming is an essential safeguard for ensuring transparency throughout the electoral process, from the announcement of results at polling stations to the final declaration.
Njomo contended that removing the obligation from the law would effectively achieve an outcome that the courts have previously declared unconstitutional.
He cited the 2018 High Court decision in Katiba Institute and three others v Attorney General, which declared unconstitutional a provision that sought to limit the legal status of live-streamed results to public information.
The Court of Appeal upheld the finding in October 2023.
Njomo argued that the live-streaming mechanism provides contemporaneous public access to election results and helps safeguard the integrity and credibility of the electoral process.
The lawyer also challenged the legislative process leading to the proposed amendment, alleging that Parliament failed to facilitate adequate and meaningful public participation.
According to the petition, the National Assembly’s Departmental Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs had proposed deleting Clause 22, which would have retained the existing live-streaming requirement.
However, the proposed deletion was not adopted.
“Upon information and belief, on 22 October 2026 the National Assembly passed the Bill with amendments. The amendments that would have retained or strengthened the live-streaming obligation were not adopted, and Clause 22 was approved in a form that removes it,” read the court documents.
He further alleged that substantive provisions, including those relating to eligibility in by-elections and recall thresholds, were introduced at the committee stage without adequate public participation.
Njomo sought several declarations from the court, including that Articles 35, 38(2), 81, 82(2) and 86 of the Constitution guarantee every citizen the right to an electoral results process that is transparent, verifiable and accountable at every stage.
He also wanted the court to declare that the live-streaming mechanism provided for under Section 39 of the Elections Act is an appropriate constitutional safeguard that Parliament cannot remove without replacing it with an equivalent or more transparent mechanism.
The lawyer further sought a declaration that Clause 22 is unconstitutional to the extent that it removes the live-streaming obligation, and that any law enacted through the provision that omits the requirement would be inconsistent with the Constitution and therefore invalid.
He is also asking the court to declare that Parliament cannot use the proposed amendment to achieve an outcome previously rejected by the courts, and that the National Assembly and Senate violated the Constitution by failing to ensure adequate public participation in considering the Bill.
He is also seeking a declaration that the IEBC remains constitutionally obligated to establish and maintain a mechanism for live-streaming results announced at polling stations during the 2027 General Election and subsequent elections and by-elections.
The petition comes after the National Assembly passed the elections bill, removing the legal requirement for the IEBC to livestream election results as they are announced at polling stations.
The Bill, Senate Bill No. 29 of 2024, sponsored by Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah and Minority Leader Junet Mohamed seeks to implement recommendations arising from the National Dialogue Committee (NADCO) and amend several provisions of the Elections Act, 2011.
