A move by the Government to sponsor a Bill in parliament that seeks to bar media houses and other online portals from LIVE streaming the 2022 election results has caused an uproar.
The Elections (Amendment) Bill, 2022 also seeks to quash a requirement necessitating the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) from availing polling station results on an online portal.
This new move could be a stumbling block to real-time monitoring of provisional results, as they can only be accessed once they have been verified IEBC and announced as final results.
Lawyer Philip Gichana representing Mzalendo Trust
Transparency International is a global movement working in over 100 countries to end the injustice of corruption and Mzalendo Trust Mzalendo Kenya’s premier Parliamentary monitoring organization that promotes open, inclusive, and accountable Parliaments across Kenya and Africa have come together to give insights and share with the media to educate and elaborate the new amendments which are under discussion in parliament.
The movements currently monitoring and conducting education sharing insights on the amendments bill tabled.
The Bill was tabled in Parliament on Wednesday, February 2, by Majority Leader Amos Kimunya and Member of Parliament for Kipipiri Constituency.
The law requires Presiding Officers to transmit results at every polling station to the Returning Officer based in their region of jurisdiction.
Returning Officers are then required to collate results from their region to the National Tallying Centre.
The physical forms are also required to be delivered at the National Tallying Centre by the Individual Returning Officers for verification and reconciliation.
The proposed amendments were aligned with the Political Parties (Amendment) Act, 2021, and in line with the definition as encapsulated under the Constitution.
