Explained: Is Kenya scrapping live streaming of election results for the 2027 polls?

For millions of Kenyans, election night has become as much about watching live results as it is about casting a ballot.

From polling stations to constituency tallying centres and the national tallying centre, the public has grown accustomed to following the vote in real time.

That familiar process is now at the center of a fresh debate after a proposed amendment to the Elections Act triggered reports that live streaming of election results could be abolished ahead of the 2027 General Election.

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), however, says that is not what is happening.

What sparked the debate?

The controversy stems from the Election Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026, which is currently before Parliament.

Among its proposals is the deletion of Section 39(1G) of the Elections Act, a provision that currently requires the IEBC to establish a mechanism for live streaming the declaration of results from polling stations for public information.

After details of the proposed amendment emerged, concerns quickly spread that Kenyans would no longer be able to follow election results live during the 2027 polls.

What has the IEBC said?

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the IEBC distanced itself from the proposal.

The Commission said it neither drafted nor sponsored the Election Laws (Amendment) Bill, stressing that any proposed changes to election legislation are initiated and processed by Parliament, not the electoral body.

IEBC also dismissed claims that it intends to stop live streaming election results, describing reports linking the proposal directly to the Commission as inaccurate.

So, is live streaming being banned?

Not exactly.

The proposed amendment does not expressly prohibit the IEBC from live streaming election results.

Instead, it seeks to remove the legal obligation requiring the Commission to provide that service.

That distinction is important.

If Parliament passes the Bill in its current form, the IEBC could still choose to live stream election results as part of its transparency measures.

However, it would no longer be legally compelled to do so under the Elections Act.

In other words, the proposal changes what the law requires, not necessarily what the Commission can do.

Why was live streaming introduced?

The requirement for greater openness in election management grew out of Kenya's electoral reforms following the 2007–08 post-election crisis.

Subsequent constitutional and legal reforms strengthened transparency by introducing electronic transmission of results, public access to election information and greater scrutiny of the tallying process.

Live streaming was later incorporated as an additional measure to allow political parties, observers, the media and ordinary Kenyans to follow the declaration of results as they happened, helping build public confidence in the electoral process.

Other changes proposed in the Bill

The live streaming debate is only one part of a much broader package of electoral reforms.

The Election Laws (Amendment) Bill also proposes changes affecting the transmission and verification of election results, including provisions for alternative transmission methods where electronic networks are unavailable.

It further seeks to strengthen verification procedures by requiring electronically transmitted results to be cross-checked against the original statutory forms before final declaration.

Other proposals touch on the declaration of presidential results, election technology used during disputes, and procedures relating to the recall of elected leaders.

What happens next?

The Bill is still before Parliament and has not become law.

Members of Parliament will debate the proposed amendments before deciding whether to approve, amend or reject them.

If passed by both Houses and assented to by the President, the changes would take effect before the 2027 General Election.

For now, the IEBC maintains that it has not proposed ending live streaming of election results and that the ongoing debate should be understood within the context of a parliamentary legislative process - not as a decision already made by the Commission.