Govt's Motion to Prevent the Media from Live Streaming the 2022 Elections
On Wednesday, February 2, Majority leader Amos Kimunya introduced a bill to the parliament where the government seeks to prohibit media outlets and other online portals from live streaming 2022 election results.
Leah Mukangai 
The Elections (Amendment) Bill, 2022 aims to overturn a requirement that the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) make polling station results available on an online platform.
This new measure could be a stumbling block to real-time monitoring since preliminary results will only be obtained once they have been certified by the IEBC and announced as final results for the elections.
The bill was met with opposition from members affiliated with Deputy President William Ruto's United Democratic Alliance (UDA).
“This Bill is mischievous. If they are for a credible, transparent process, why shut out the media from streaming live the presidential election results. We are not for this,” Belgut MP Nelson Koech expressed.
Soy MP Caleb Kositany has promised to mobilize UDA supporters to vote against the bill or pursue legal redress in case it passes.
“I am smelling a rat. These people want to rig elections. We will not allow the media and other online channels to be shut out in the live streaming of the presidential election results,” said Kositany.
The legislation mandates that Presiding Officers send results from each polling station to the returning officer in their region of jurisdiction. Thereafter, returning officers must then gather results from respective regions and forward them to the National Tallying Centre.
Individual Returning Officers must also transmit the physical forms to the National Tallying Centre for verification and reconciliation.
