- The Senate has approved the electronic transmission of election results to INEC’s Result Viewing Portal (IReV)
- Meanwhile, manual collation using Form EC8A will remain as a primary fallback when electronic transmission is impossible
- The development has drawn criticism from civil society groups and opposition politicians
The Senate has approved provisions allowing the electronic transmission of election results to the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) Result Viewing Portal (IReV), while also retaining manual collation as a fallback where technology fails.
The decision came after lawmakers revisited a controversial clause in the Electoral Act Amendment Bill during an emergency plenary session on Tuesday, February 10.
Despite endorsing electronic transmission, the Senate declined to make it mandatory and also rejected proposals requiring real-time upload of results.
Under the amended section, presiding officers at polling units are required to transmit results electronically to the IReV portal once voting and documentation have been concluded.
However, where technological challenges, such as network problems, prevent transmission, the manually completed result sheet, Form EC8A, will serve as the main basis for collation and declaration.
Putting the motion to a voice vote, Senate President Godswill Akpabio challenged dissenting lawmakers to formally oppose it.
“It’s very simple. If you disagree with him, move your counter motion. So, if you agree with him, you agree with me when I put the votes,” Akpabio said.
He explained that the Senate was reversing an earlier decision on Section 60, Subsection 3 of the Electoral Act.
“When I ask for the votes, when I ask for your consent, let me read the motion. His earlier motion, which passed in our last sitting, he has sought to rescind that. That is in respect of Section 60, Subsection 3. And this is what he said,” Akpabio stated.
Reading out the revised wording, the Senate President added: “That the presiding officer shall electronically transmit the results from each polling unit to the IReV portal. And such transmission shall be done after the prescribed Form EC8A has been signed and stamped by the presiding officer and/or countersigned by the candidates or polling agents, where available at the polling units, because sometimes you don’t see any polling agent.”
He further noted that the amendment accommodates situations where electronic transfer is impossible.
“Provided that if the electronic transmission of the results fails as a result of communication failure, in other words, maybe network or otherwise, and it becomes impossible to transmit the results electronically in Form EC8A signed and stamped by the presiding officer and/or countersigned by the candidates or polling agents where available at the polling units, the Form EC8A shall in such a case be the primary source of collation and declaration of results,” he said.
The development has drawn criticism from civil society groups and opposition politicians, who warn that permitting manually collated results to override electronically transmitted ones could undermine transparency and open the door to manipulation, particularly in areas with weak network coverage.
Electoral Act crisis sparks Senate’s emergency meeting amid protest plans
Meanwhile, TheRadar earlier reported that the Nigeria’s Senate had called an emergency plenary session for Tuesday, February 10, following growing public backlash over its handling of the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill, especially the rejection of a clause requiring real-time electronic transmission of election results.
The move came as pressure mounts from labour unions, civil society groups and political activists, many of whom accused the Senate of weakening electoral transparency.