The High Court has certified as urgent a petition challenging a proposed amendment to the Elections Act that seeks to remove the requirement for live-streaming election results announced at polling stations.
The petition targets Clause 22 of the Elections (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill, 2024, also known as Senate Bill No. 29 of 2024, which seeks to repeal or omit the provision requiring the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to establish and maintain a mechanism for live-streaming results declared at polling stations.
In its directions, the court ordered that the application, petition and court directions be physically served on the respondents and interested parties within two days, with a return of service subsequently filed.
The respondents and interested parties have been directed to file and serve their responses to the application and petition within seven days of service.
The matter will be mentioned on November 2, 2026, to confirm compliance with the court's directions and for further orders.
The case was filed by lawyer John Muremi Njomo, who is seeking to stop Parliament from forwarding the Bill to the President for assent if it contains provisions that remove the live-streaming requirement.
Njomo wants the court to issue conservatory orders restraining the National Assembly and the Senate from presenting the legislation for presidential assent in a form that eliminates the obligation.
He argues that any provision seeking to repeal or omit the requirement under Section 39 of the Elections Act should be stopped to preserve the existing legal framework governing the transmission and announcement of election results.
The petitioner is also seeking interim orders pending an inter partes hearing.
Alternatively, he wants the court to suspend the operation of Clause 22 and any resulting provision of an Act of Parliament to the extent that it removes the live-streaming requirement.
Njomo further wants the court to preserve the existing legal position to allow the IEBC to continue its planning, procurement and preparations for the General Election scheduled for August 10, 2027, and any by-elections, on the basis that the requirement remains in force.
The Attorney General, the National Assembly and the Senate have been named as respondents, while the IEBC is listed as an interested party.
The petitioner has also asked the court to certify the matter as raising substantial questions of law under Article 165(4) of the Constitution. If granted, this would allow the Chief Justice to constitute a bench of an uneven number of judges, not fewer than three, to hear and determine the dispute.
The case places the proposed amendment under judicial scrutiny as the court considers the legal questions surrounding the retention or removal of the live-streaming requirement ahead of the next General Election.
No final determination on the merits of the petition has been indicated in the directions issued so far.
