Nigerian Senate rejects bill to mandate electronic transmission of election results

By Sabiu Abdullahi

The Nigerian Senate has voted down a proposal seeking to amend the Electoral Act to make the electronic transmission of election results compulsory.

The decision was taken on Wednesday when lawmakers rejected an amendment to Clause 60, Subsection 3, of the Electoral Amendment Bill. The proposal aimed to remove the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) discretion over how election results are transmitted.

If approved, the amendment would have legally required INEC presiding officers to electronically upload results from every polling unit directly to the Result Viewing Portal (IREV) in real time. This process was to occur immediately after Form EC8A had been duly signed and stamped by the presiding officer, with party agents countersigning the document.

However, the Senate chose to maintain the existing and widely debated provision of the Electoral Act.

Under the current law, “the presiding officer shall transfer the results, including the total number of accredited voters and the results of the ballot, in a manner as prescribed by the Commission.”

By retaining this clause, lawmakers have allowed INEC to continue determining whether electronic transmission will be used. Critics insist that this flexibility created gaps that were allegedly exploited during the 2023 general elections.

The Senate’s decision has sparked strong reactions across the country, with many Nigerians and civil society organisations expressing disappointment. These groups had backed the amendment, describing it as a vital safeguard against manual manipulation of results at collation centres.

Analysts described the move as a setback for democratic development in Nigeria.

“We thought the National Assembly would learn from the failures of 2023 where the IREV portal became a source of national embarrassment,” Gerald Ede said. “By rejecting mandatory transmission, the Senate has essentially given a green light for the status quo of ‘manual miracles’ and result manipulation to continue.”

Supporters of the amendment had viewed mandatory real-time transmission as a crucial measure to rebuild public trust in elections.

The rejection comes at a time when calls for comprehensive electoral reforms are growing, particularly reforms designed to reduce human interference in the electoral process.

Opponents of the Senate’s position argue that leaving the “manner” of transmission to INEC’s discretion, especially given its past record of “technical glitches” during key stages of result collation, could fuel further electoral disputes and weaken the legitimacy of elected officials.