The proposed amendments to electoral laws, which, in effect, among others, remove the categorical requirement for livestreaming of election results, unfortunately take us back.
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), in transmitting results in real time, does so to meet the constitutional requirement for transparency, broadly under the national values and principles.
The aspect of livestreaming is to make the commission’s work more accessible to citizens. It is primary and not a statutory debate. It is a constitutional demand.
Laws that diminish the place of the constitution simply means we will be going back to the infamous dark days, pre-2010 constitution. Even in 2002, we were all glued to our TVs and radios to follow the results of the then election in real time.
The proposed amendments thus are clawing back on the political gains that Kenyans have made in their fight for transparency in election results management.
What is the mischief being cured in removing the requirement for live transmission? We are boasting of having the latest technologies. Is it the issue of gadgets? Let the IEBC showcase it so we can understand.
There has been debate about the national tallying centre for presidential elections. I am of the school of thought in the Maina Kiai case ruling that premised that polling station results are final.
While it may not be feasible to livestream, at least we expect the IEBC to post the results even on its website so that Kenyans can see them. The media can also tally the results, that is the finally agreed results, and uniformly so, from the livestream portal.
I wouldn’t support the aspect where IEBC operates in a manner that doesn’t inspire confidence in the process. The end of livestream risks making elections less free, less verifiable and less transparent. The amendment to Section 39 (1D) is even more dangerous, since it replaces ‘true record’ – which is more legally binding, with ‘true reflection’ of results as announced at polling station.
Constitutional lawyer spoke to Star
