KITUI, Kenya — President William Ruto has defended proposed changes to Kenya’s electoral laws, accusing opposition leaders of spreading misinformation about the livestreaming of election results and exploiting young people for political gain ahead of the 2027 General Election.
Speaking during a church service at AIC Kasina in Mwingi, Kitui County, on Sunday, October 25, Ruto dismissed claims that the Elections (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill, 2024, would ban the livestreaming of election results, insisting that Kenyans should be able to access information about the electoral process as soon as it becomes available.
“I have seen propagandists try to create propaganda around election laws that livestreaming has been banned. Nonsense,” Ruto said.
“Results are a right of Kenyans. The sooner Kenyans get to know the results of our elections, the better for our country,” he added.
The President questioned why anyone would seek to prevent the public from following the announcement of election results, arguing that timely access to information was important for the country.
“Why would anyone want to stop live-streaming of results? It’s a right of Kenyans,” he said.
Ruto also urged political leaders to focus on issues affecting young people, including education, employment and business opportunities, rather than mobilising them around what he described as propaganda.
His remarks come amid growing public debate over proposed changes to the Elections Act and their implications for electoral transparency ahead of the August 2027 General Election.
What Parliament changed in the Elections Bill
The controversy intensified after the National Assembly passed the Elections (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill, 2024, with amendments on October 22, prompting concerns that the proposed legislation would remove the legal requirement for the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to livestream results as they are announced at polling stations.
However, Parliament subsequently clarified that it had deleted Clause 22 of the Bill, which sought to repeal and replace Section 39 of the Elections Act, leaving the existing provision on livestreaming intact.
National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah said the House had retained the legal framework requiring the IEBC to establish a mechanism for livestreaming results announced at polling stations.
The State Department for Parliamentary Affairs also confirmed on October 24 that the livestreaming requirement remained in the version passed by the National Assembly.
The government said the decision followed consideration of a High Court judgment delivered on September 22, 2026.
The amended Bill must return to the Senate for consideration because it originated in the upper house. It has therefore not completed the legislative process.
The distinction at the centre of the debate is between livestreaming results announcements at polling stations and electronically transmitting election results to tallying centres and other authorised recipients.
The processes serve related but different purposes in enabling public access to election information.
The National Assembly’s position is that the existing livestreaming provision was retained.
The dispute has nevertheless highlighted the need for clarity over the wording of proposed electoral reforms and the safeguards governing public access to results.
Ruto invokes 2024 Finance Bill protests
During his address, Ruto linked the current controversy to the widespread protests against the 2024 Finance Bill, which were led largely by young Kenyans and prompted the President to withdraw the legislation after Parliament had passed it.
The President argued that the opposition was again using misinformation to mobilise young people, rejecting claims that the earlier Finance Bill was fundamentally flawed and attributing the public backlash partly to what he described as propaganda.
He warned political leaders against what he characterised as the misuse of young people for partisan interests, urging them to engage with the issues affecting their daily lives.
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Ruto said young Kenyans needed access to education, jobs and opportunities to establish businesses, arguing that political debate should focus on addressing those priorities.
His comments come as political parties and civic groups increasingly scrutinise proposed changes to election laws in the run-up to the 2027 polls.
Electoral transparency debate intensifies
The dispute over livestreaming has placed electoral transparency and public confidence in the results-management process at the centre of Kenya’s preparations for the next General Election.
Livestreaming enables voters, political parties, journalists and election observers to watch results being announced at polling stations.
Electronic transmission and publication of official result forms provide additional mechanisms for checking figures as they move through the tallying process.
Although the National Assembly says it retained the livestreaming requirement, critics have called for greater clarity on the final legislative text and the practical safeguards that will apply during the election.
The debate also follows a September 22 High Court judgment concerning provisions of the Elections Act and the Elections (General) Regulations. Parliament said it considered the court’s guidance when deciding to retain Section 39.
With the Bill returning to the Senate, its final wording and subsequent legislative progress will be important in determining how the existing electoral framework is affected ahead of the 2027 election.
For now, Ruto maintains that livestreaming has not been banned and has accused opposition leaders of misleading the public.
The National Assembly and the State Department for Parliamentary Affairs have similarly said the requirement remains in the amended Bill, while the wider debate over electoral transparency continues.
