Is the Amendment Bills Shaping Up The 2022 Succession Matrix?

The proposed amendments on the election law have heralded uproar and mixed reactions, not only from the political class but also from concerned citizens. The fact that the changes are being proposed just a few months away from the general elections is a matter of concern to the nation.

The Election Amendment Bill 2022 proposes, among others, to ban live streaming of poll results and allow for both manual and digital transmission of presidential election results. Ruto’s attack on the Bill is a U-turn from the position he held in 2017 when he was in good terms with his boss. Politics can be dynamic.

“We will change the law to ensure that no court overturns the will of the people without counting the votes cast by the people of Kenya,” Ruto said in 2017. “It is not possible. When live streaming of results is on the course, manual transmission should go on concurrently. When one method of transmission fails, the other one becomes applicable.” The whole turn of events in the Kenyan political scene is so unprecedented!

The controversial bill seeks to scrape off live streaming of poll results during elections. The timing of the amendment has raised a lot of questions. Politicians allied with Deputy President Dr. William Ruto have argued that the election law amendment bill 2022 is part of the wider plan to rig the forthcoming august general elections.

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The amendment emanates from the Independent Electoral and boundaries commission (IEBC), but it is being perceived that the executive must be having a hand in it. The fact that IEBC took too long to propose such vital changes since 2017 to date is a matter of concern.

The much-heated political debates revolving around 2022 succession politics appear to be taking a different twist after the signing into Law of the Political parties amendment bill, which sailed through both in the National assembly and the Senate. Going forward, the political space will be dominated by coalitions that will operate under Law. Is this a good thing for big parties? This is debatable. It is obvious that small parties will ripe big.

The two amendments have shaped up the political engagements on all media platforms. Deputy President William Ruto, ANC Leader Musalia Mudavadi and their troops have turned the heat on the IEBC and the Attorney General over proposed changes to the election law that seeks to ban live streaming of presidential election results.

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Article by John Kachibo