Breaking News: Senate Reverses Stance, Amends Electoral Act to Allow Electronic Transmission of Results
The Senate has re-amended the Electoral Act to accommodate the electronic transmission of election results, reversing its earlier decision that rejected the provision and sparking renewed debate over electoral transparency in Nigeria.
The amendment, however, comes with conditions. According to the revised provision, electronic transmission of results is permitted, but in the event of internet failure, Form EC8A will serve as the primary means of result collation.
The decision was taken on Tuesday during an emergency plenary session of the upper legislative chamber, following a motion moved by the Senate Chief Whip, Senator Tahir Monguno (APC, Borno North).
The Senate had earlier rejected mandatory electronic transmission of results from polling units to the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) Result Viewing Portal (IREV), a move that attracted widespread criticism from stakeholders and the public.
Explaining the reversal, Senator Monguno said the decision was informed by the need to align Nigeria’s electoral laws with the wishes and aspirations of Nigerians.
“This amendment is to bring our laws to make it a replica of the wishes and aspirations of the people,” Monguno stated.
The motion was seconded by the Senate Minority Leader, Senator Abba Moro, and was subsequently put to a voice vote by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, where it received overwhelming support from lawmakers.
Despite the amendment, the Senate stopped short of making electronic transmission mandatory. Instead, the law provides flexibility by allowing electronic transmission while retaining manual collation as a fallback option where network challenges occur.
During an earlier clause-by-clause consideration of the amendment last Wednesday, Senator Monguno had urged the Senate to retain Clause 60 of the 2022 Electoral Act, which allows for the transmission of election results to collation centres.
With the latest development, the Senate has effectively acknowledged that its earlier version of the amendment was passed without adequate provision for electronic transmission of results, a gap now addressed by the re-amendment.