Govt threatens to shut media houses announcing election results

Information Communication Technology Cabinet Secretary, Joe Mucheru, has threatened to shut down any media house that releases election results during the August 8, 2017 elections.

Speaking in Nyeri, CS Mucheru warned media houses against announcing any results saying that releasing election results is a constitutional mandate of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) and that no other body is allowed to make any announcement.

“We have allowed people to tally their own results, even you the media but you are not IEBC. The constitution has given IEBC the mandate to announce the results, if you try to tally and announce or publish the results, we will shut the media house,” he said.

The warning by CS comes even as the opposition National Super Alliance (NASA) maintains that it will have its own tallying centre where it will follow the proceedings of the electoral process and make its tallying.

Traditionally, media houses have released provisional results from constituency tallying centres.

Barely three weeks ago, the Court of Appeal sitting in Nairobi announced that presidential elections announced at the constituency tallying centres will be final. IEBC chairman, Wafula Chebukati, said that the poll body will respect the court ruling.