Release poll results at your own peril: CS warns media

Media houses that will release election results before the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission risk losing their licences, ICT Cabinet Secretary Joe Mucheru has warned.

The CS was speaking at Ngangarithi AIPCA church in Nyeri County on Sunday when he said that the media houses will face prosecution for releasing results that have not been officially announced by an IEBC official.

“The law is very clear that only the IEBC can release election results, if anyone releases results before that, they will be shut down,” Mr Mucheru said.

PROSECUTION
In the event a media house releases results before the electoral body, the CS said the immediate response from the government will be to pull them off air by switching off their transmitters.

The said media house will then face the risk of losing licence and prosecution.

“If any media houses decides to release their own results we will switch them off immediately. They will face prosecution as per the law and probably lose their licence,” he added.

TALLYING CENTRES
Media houses and the opposition coalition, National Super Alliance, have set up tallying centres to have their own record.

Mr Mucheru however noted that media houses can have their own tallying centres, but the final results will be those from the electoral body.

IEBC

He said that regardless of whether the figures from external tallying centres differ from those of the IEBC, the electoral body’s will be the final results.

“Anybody can have their own tallying centres wherever they want but the final results will be those of the IEBC,” he said.

The CS also intensified campaigns for President Kenyatta’s re-election capitalizing on the achievements of the ruling administration.

He urged Nyeri residents to re-elect the Jubilee government to a